
US, Russia hail India on Independence Day amid geopolitical shifts
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement, called the US-India relationship 'consequential and far-reaching,' despite ongoing trade frictions.
'Our nations share a vision for a more peaceful and secure Indo-Pacific. This partnership spans industries, fuels innovation, drives critical technologies, and extends into space,' he said, reiterating Washington's commitment to deepening cooperation with New Delhi to meet modern global challenges.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his message to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, described India as a nation with 'well-deserved authority' in world affairs. He highlighted India's active engagement on key global issues and reaffirmed Moscow's intent to further strengthen the 'special privileged strategic partnership' between the two countries.
Putin expressed confidence that bilateral cooperation would continue to expand, benefiting both nations and contributing to regional and global stability.
The strong messages from Washington and Moscow reflect India's pivotal diplomatic positioning in a multipolar world, one where its influence continues to grow across strategic, technological, and economic domains.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
10 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘If all works out…': Donald Trump on meeting with Ukraine's Zelensky on Monday
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Oval Office in Washington on Monday, days after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended without a breakthrough on Ukraine. HT Image 'President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., Oval Office, on Monday afternoon,' Trump told reporters. He added, 'If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin.' Earlier, Zelensky said he had a 'long and substantive' call with Trump following the Alaska talks. The Ukrainian leader thanked Trump for the invitation and said the Washington meeting would be used to 'discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.'


Hans India
11 minutes ago
- Hans India
Kerala CM Vijayan criticises PM Modi for 'glorifying RSS' in I-Day speech
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of using the country's 79th Independence Day address to glorify the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and V.D. Savarkar. 'It's not acceptable at all as the attempt to project the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and V.D. Savarkar as central figures in India's independence movement. Choosing Independence Day itself to glorify those who compromised with colonial powers is being seen as an insult to the freedom struggle,' Vijayan wrote on social media. He went on to point out that the RSS was banned in the aftermath of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, while Savarkar himself faced trial in the conspiracy linked to Mahatma Gandhi's murder. 'Associating them with the 'fatherhood of freedom' is a denial of history. PM Modi's Independence Day address, which indirectly valorised the RSS, was a misuse of the solemn occasion. Moreover, the decision of the Union Petroleum Ministry's Independence Day greeting card placing Savarkar's image above Gandhi's is nothing but a part of a larger conspiracy to rewrite history,' added Vijayan. 'India's independence movement was a collective battle, cutting across caste, creed, language, and religion. In contrast, the RSS distanced itself from the movement and openly opposed its ideological foundations. Instead of inclusive Indian nationalism, it promoted a majoritarian Hindutva vision,' added Vijayan. Citing history, Vijayan further pointed out that when the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on November 26, 1949, the RSS mouthpiece Organizer editorialised that the Manusmriti should have been the guiding text instead of the Constitution. Similarly, the Hindu Mahasabha under Savarkar had even boycotted the celebrations of August 15, 1947. 'Those who turned their backs on the freedom struggle are now attempting to insert themselves into its history, while sidelining real martyrs, such as those of the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising or the victims of the Wagon Tragedy. Those who call for commemorating Partition horrors on August 14 have little moral standing to lecture the nation on Independence Day,' wrote Vijayan. Vijayan ends his piece by stating that any attempt to replace the legacy of humanism and unity with sectarian hatred must be resisted collectively.


Hans India
11 minutes ago
- Hans India
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit India on Monday
Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi is set to visit India on August 18 (Monday) for the 24th Round of Talks Between the Special Representatives of China and India on the Boundary Question, Beijing confirmed on Saturday. "From August 18 to 20, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and China's Special Representative on the China-India boundary question Wang Yi will visit India and hold the 24th Round of Talks Between the Special Representatives of China and India on the Boundary Question at the invitation of the Indian side," the Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The visit is scheduled to take place shortly before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit scheduled to take place at Tianjin, from August 31 to September 1. The Chinese side also welcomed PM Modi's participation in the SCO Summit. At a briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, "China welcomes Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO Tianjin Summit. We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness." According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, leaders of over 20 countries, including all member states of the SCO and heads of 10 international organisations, will attend relevant events of the summit, which, Jiakun said, will be the "largest summit in scale since the establishment of the SCO." This will be PM Modi's first visit to China since the Galwan clash in 2020, which severely strained bilateral ties. The breakthrough in bilateral talks, first after the Galwan Valley face-off between the soldiers of the two countries at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in June 2020, was made possible after India and China reached an agreement on patrolling along the nearly 3500-km LAC to end the four-year-long border confrontation. In July, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited China to attend the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Tianjin. He also held discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the meeting. He also called on Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with his fellow SCO Foreign Ministers. Earlier in June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited China to attend the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting. India had refused to endorse the joint declaration at the SCO Defence Ministers' meeting, citing the exclusion of concerns around terrorism as a key reason. India stated that it wanted concerns about terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country; therefore, the statement was not adopted. During his visit, Singh met his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Don Jun, and the two leaders had a "constructive and forward-looking exchange of views" on issues related to bilateral ties. In June, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval also visited China to attend the 20th Meeting of the SCO Security Council Secretaries. In his intervention at the meeting, he highlighted the need to shun double standards in the fight against terrorism and take decisive actions against UN-proscribed terrorists and entities like LeT, JeM and their proxies and dismantle their terror eco-systems.