Putin thanks PM Modi, Trump for 'noble mission' to resolve Ukraine conflict
Moscow (PTI): Russian Prnt Vladimir Putin has thanked world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their "noble mission" to end the fighting between Ukraine and Russia.
Putin made these remarks on Thursday while making his first public remarks on Ukraine's ceasefire proposal.
Putin confirmed on Thursday that Russia is ready to discuss a ceasefire but that the terms of such an arrangement should be clarified.
Putin has said as far back as July 2024 that Moscow is not interested in short-term pauses but is ready to engage on addressing the causes of the conflict, RT News reported.
Washington and Ukraine both endorsed a 30-day temporary truce following a meeting between their respective delegations in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
"Before I assess how I view Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, I would first like to begin by thanking the President of the United States, Trump, for paying so much attention to resolving the conflict in Ukraine," he said.
"We all have enough issues to deal with. But many heads of state, the president of the People's Republic of China, the Prime Minister of India, the presidents of Brazil and South African Republic are spending a lot of time dealing with this issue. We are thankful to all of them, because this is aimed at achieving a noble mission, a mission to stop hostilities and the loss of human lives," Putin said.
"Secondly, we agree with the proposals to stop hostilities. But our position is that this ceasefire should lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the initial causes of this crisis."
Since the Ukraine conflict began in February last year, Prime Minister Modi has spoken to Putin as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a number of times.
Prime Minister Modi, during a meeting with Trump at the White House last month, stressed that "India is not neutral" in its stand on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
"India is not neutral. India is siding with peace. I have already said to President Putin that this is not the era of war. I support the efforts taken by President Trump," the Prime Minister had said.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
