Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warns Third World War would be ‘nuclear and destructive’
Moscow, Mar 2: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday warned that a third World War, should it break out, will be "nuclear and devastating", amid spiralling tensions with the West over Moscow's ongoing massive military operation against Ukraine.
"A third World War would be a devastating nuclear war, Russia's longtime top diplomat said in an interview to the Al Jazeera television channel, according to state-owned TASS news agency.
Also, Lavrov stressed US President Joe Biden's remark that a third World War would be an alternative to Washington's tough sanctions against Moscow.
Lavrov said that Russia was ready for sanctions that were imposed against it but was surprised that the penalties affected athletes and journalists.
"We were ready for sanctions but did not expect that they would affect athletes, intellectuals, actors and journalists, he said, referring to the ban and sanctions by Western countries.
In his maiden State of the Union address, President Biden on Tuesday night accused his Russian counterpart of waging a "premeditated and unprovoked" war against Ukraine, asserting that "dictators" like Vladimir Putin would "pay a price" for "invading" a foreign country.
The US has joined the European Union in banning Russian flights from its airspace in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
Lavrov said the special operation against Ukraine was launched with the aim preventing Kyiv from obtaining nuclear weapons, the Qatar-based news channel reported.
"The military operation in Ukraine, including Kiev, is aimed at disarming the Ukraine. Russia will not let Ukraine obtain nuclear weapons," he was quoted as saying by the channel.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said that Kiev might revise its obligations under the Budapest Memorandum, by which Ukraine had agreed to give away nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees.
Lavrov said that Russia is ready for the second round of talks, but the Ukrainian side is delaying the the process under command from the Amercans.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lavrov said that the West should not establish military facilities on the territory of former USSR states that are not members of NATO.
In a video address to the Disarmament Conference in Geneva, he also emphasised that Moscow believes that obtaining legally binding security guarantees from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) members is of paramount importance.
Russia has long resisted Ukraine's move towards the European Union and the West's defensive military alliance, NATO.
In a pre-dawn TV address on February 24, President Putin declared that Russia could not feel "safe, develop and exist" because of what he claimed was a constant threat from modern Ukraine.
Putin claimed that his goal was to protect people subjected to bullying and genocide and aim for the "demilitarisation and de-Nazification" of Ukraine.
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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.
