Estonian PM Exclusive: ‘Russia Testing All Democracies But NATO…'
As a border state with Russia and a Nato and EU member, Estonia is particularly concerned about Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Estonia also faces Moscow's hybrid tactics, particularly in the cyber domain. In a special interview with TOI, Estonian PM Kristen Michal says Europe is changing to meet the threats, hopes India will apply pressure on Russia behind the scenes, and pitches for greater cyber security cooperation between New Delhi and Tallinn.
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India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Putin thanks Pope Leo for peace efforts in Ukraine, accuses Kyiv of escalating conflict
In a recent telephone conversation, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to Pope Leo for the Vatican's willingness to assist in resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin announced to the Kremlin's statement, the call, whose date was not disclosed, centered on humanitarian concerns and efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the war. Putin thanked the Pontiff for the Vatican's "readiness to help settle the crisis," particularly in addressing humanitarian issues on a neutral and depoliticized the discussion, Putin accused Ukraine's leadership of intentionally intensifying the conflict. He alleged that Kyiv is "banking on escalating the conflict" and engaging in acts of sabotage against civilian infrastructure on Russian soil, labeling such actions as terrorism. The Russian president reiterated Moscow's longstanding demands that Ukraine commit to neutrality and that NATO abandon further eastward expansion, citing these as the 'root causes' of the US President Donald Trump previously claimed the Pope offered the Vatican as a venue for Russia-Ukraine negotiations, Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have dismissed the Vatican as a suitable site, citing the predominantly Orthodox Christian identities of both the Kremlin acknowledged progress in recent direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials, specifically in areas such as prisoner exchanges and the return of servicemen's Russian side also expressed hope that the Vatican would advocate more strongly for religious freedoms in Ukraine, referencing actions by Ukrainian authorities against clergy affiliated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church historically linked to has launched legal proceedings against several clergy members over alleged pro-Russian sympathies, while an independent, Kyiv-based Orthodox Church continues to grow in inputs from ReutersMust Watch
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
From The Hindu, June 5, 1975: U.S. may revive bid for W. Asia peace: Ford is back home
Washington, June 4: The U.S. President, Mr. Gerald Ford, returned home to-day after attending a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation at Brussels and talks on the West Asia situation with President Anwar Sadat of Egypt at Salzburg. Officials accompanying the President said Mr. Ford had returned with the feeling that his journey was a success. Mr. Ford himself told a meeting here shortly after his arrival: 'Our major alliances are firm and strong.' He was referring to his discussions with the heads of Government of the NATO nations. On the West Asia problem which he discussed with Mr. Sadat, the President made no statement of a substantive kind. It was presumed he preferred to await his impending talks with the Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Yitzhak Rabin, scheduled here for next week. While the officials travelling with Mr. Ford believed that the Ford-Sadat talks had opened the early possibility of a revival of U.S. diplomatic efforts by Dr. Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State himself took a cautious line. He said he was not saying there was progress in the talks between the two Presidents, but felt that conditions had been created under which 'there could be progress.' Officials here consider that the Israeli action, pulling back troops following the Egyptian decision to reopen the Suez Canal, is a goodwill gesture but no more than that. The number of troops involved is just nominal, about 3,500 soldiers, and some tanks, but it has added to the lessening of tension.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
In Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine talk peace but are still far apart on truce
A much-awaited meeting between the Ukrainian government delegation and their Russian counterparts, on Monday, ended within an hour and with little progress in negotiating the end to the war that started in 2022. While agreements were reached on prisoner exchange, there has been no word on talks to potentially end the decades-long conflict. The slow pace of the talks was attributed to the lackadaisical effort from the Russian delegation that refused to share their agenda with the negotiating teams ahead of the meetings. 'We didn't receive the document until the meeting began. And therefore, we can't provide any feedback until we have had the chance to study it,' Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian Minister of Defence, said at the end of the meetings. Organised under the aegis of the government of Turkiye, this was the second such meeting in Istanbul in the past month, between two warring parties and came less than a day after a large-scale Ukrainian attack on Russian military infrastructure. Operation Spiderweb Ukraine claimed that their attack, codenamed 'Operation Spiderweb', targeted over 40 planes, including surveillance and bomber aircraft, across several Russian bases, even as far east as Siberia. The resulting damage is estimated to be in billions of dollars for Russia. The impact of this intrepidity was undeniable felt at the Çırağan Palace, overlooking the Bosphorus sea, in Istanbul, as interactions between the rival delegations remained tense. 'The war goes on,' an official from the Ukrainian embassy in Turkiye said when asked about the drone attack. 'Ukraine had proposed a ceasefire on March 11. And if Russia agreed to it, I guess their planes would be intact right now,' he said, adding that the Russians remained deterrent to the idea of pausing conflicts. In fact, a 'full and unconditional ceasefire on land, at sea and in the air' remained a key demand and central to the Ukrainian agenda. 'The ceasefire is a basis for future talks of substance. We really can talk only when the weapons are silent,' Mr. Umerov said. 'Russia tries to get us into the dialogue on substantive issues like territories, like security guarantees, sanctions and whatsoever before we reach the ceasefire,' he added. However, Russia has its own terms for a ceasefire. It says the 'root cause' of the conflict should be addressed for durable peace, referring to its opposition to NATO's eastward expansion. Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation in Istanbul, said they had proposed a 'two or three days [of ceasefire] in certain areas to collect bodies of soldiers on the fronts'. This was dismissed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who wrote on social media, 'the whole point of a ceasefire is to stop people from becoming dead'. Meeting of the leaders The Ukrainian delegation also pushed for a direct meeting between Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Putin. 'We propose to the Russian side to hold a meeting [of the leaders] by the end of this month, from June 20 to 30. This is crucial for making progress in the negotiation process,' Mr. Umerov said. The Ukrainians have very little faith in the authority of any delegation sent by Russia, one of their official said. 'In Russia, Putin is the person who decides everything… decisions on the ceasefire, on other crucial elements,' he said. 'Our president is ready to meet tomorrow, if Putin says I'm ready. President Zelenskyy will meet him right away.' Mr. Zelenskyy had also offered to meet with Mr. Putin during the last Istanbul talks, a move that was initially supported by the U.S. and Turkish officials. However, the invitation was rejected by Mr. Putin. Prisoner exchange Despite the brevity of the meetings and the escalation of violence, some progress was made in the form of a deal on the exchange of prisoners of war. Similar to the outcome of the last Istanbul meeting, which resulted in the largest yet prisoner exchange, it is expected that both sides will commit to an exchange of 1,000 prisoners, prioritising young soldiers, those between 18 and 25 years, and the severely sick and wounded. 'We also agreed to return 6,000 to 6,000 bodies for fallen soldiers,' Mr. Umerov said. Another key demand put forth by the Ukrainian side was the return of nearly 400 Ukrainian children who were allegedly abducted by Russian forces from the territories Russia captured. 'This matter is a fundamental priority for us,' Mr. Umerov said. 'If Russia is genuinely committed to the peace process, the return of at least half of the children from this list would be serving as a positive indication,' he added. An investigation by Yale researchers, published in 2024 , found 20,000 children were reportedly taken and transferred to Russian and Belarusian territories where they were enrolled into 're-education' camps. The case of the alleged abduction of children also led the International Criminal Court, in 2023, to issue arrest warrants against President Putin and other Russian officials. While the Russian delegation confirmed to a section of the media that they had received a list of 339 individuals, they did not elaborate whether it was a demand they would consider. As the brief meeting came to a close, the members of both delegations stayed behind to address the media, starting with the Ukrainians, held in one of the many grandiose rooms in the Ottoman-era palace. However, as the first press conference ended and the Ukrainian flag was swapped with the Russian one to set the stage for the next media briefing, journalists who interacted with the Ukrainian officials were asked to leave. The Russian delegation held a closed-room briefing with journalists from largely their own national publications and broadcasters. The meagre success of the negotiations was tested in the following hours as Russia launched airstrikes and shelling across multiple locations on the eastern Ukrainian provinces, and Ukraine launched an underwater attack at the Crimea bridge, which connects the Black Sea peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, with Russian mainland. While referring to their operations, a day earlier, a Ukrainian diplomat in Turkiye rejected assertions equating hostilities on both sides. 'Russia is the aggressor and Ukraine is a country that is defending itself,' he said, adding that Russia hits Ukraine's residential areas, kills children and civilians, while Ukraine only targets legitimate military sites inside Russia. 'They are not comparable… but the war goes on,' he said. On the other side, Russian officials have repeatedly accused the Ukrainian forces of targeting civilian areas in Donbas and Russia's border regions. (Ruchi Kumar is an independent journalist based in Istanbul.)
