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India Today
21 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Abject apologist for Israel: Congress slams government's stand on SCO statement
The Congress on Saturday criticised the government for not participating in the discussions on the SCO statement against Israel and asked if it had been reduced to being an "abject apologist for Israel".The statement by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation dated June 14 "strongly condemned the military strikes carried out by Israel on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran on June 13".advertisementOn Friday, India had urged both countries to avoid any escalatory steps and said it was "deeply concerned" at the recent developments. After the SCO statement, India asserted that its position on the Israel-Iran situation remains as stated earlier and urged the international community to utilise channels of dialogue and diplomacy towards Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India had communicated its position to other SCO members and did not participate in the discussions on the to it, Congress General Secretary, Communications, Jairam Ramesh said: "What does this MEA statement really mean? It seems to suggest that Israel can attack Iran but that Iran should exercise restraint and not climb the escalatory ladder."Have we been reduced to being an abject apologist for Israel?""We cannot even condemn Israel's attacks on and targeted assassinations in Iran?" he said in a post on in another post, Ramesh said, "Mr. Narendra Modi goes out of his way to appease his close friend Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spearheaded genocide in Gaza and launched an air war on Iran to effect regime change.""Yet, Israel puts out a map showing J&K as part of Pakistan and the Northeast as part of Nepal. And there is no rebuke from the Prime Minister of India - or any of his senior colleagues," he statement by SCO said, "The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) express serious concern over the escalating tensions in the Middle East and strongly condemn the military strikes carried out by Israel on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran on June 13."China currently holds the chairmanship of the SCO. The influential economic and security bloc's members include Russia, India and Pakistan."The SCO has issued a statement on recent developments between Israel and Iran. India's own position on the matter had been articulated by us on 13 June 2025, and remains the same," the MEA said in a MEA further said the "overall position of India as stated above was communicated to other SCO members"."Keeping that in mind, India did not participate in the discussions on the above-mentioned SCO statement," it had in July 2023 become a permanent member of the SCO at an India-hosted virtual summit of the groupingTune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Nationalist Congress Party#Iran#Israel
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
After SCO statement on Iran-Israel tensions, India says no change in its position
India on Saturday (June 14, 2025) asserted that its position on the Israel-Iran situation remains as stated earlier and urged the international community to utilise channels of dialogue and diplomacy towards de-escalation, after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) issued a statement critical of Israel's military strikes. India had on Friday said it was "deeply concerned" at the recent developments between Iran and Israel and "closely monitoring" the evolving situation, even as New Delhi had urged both countries to avoid any escalatory steps. SCO condemns Israel's attack on Iran The statement by SCO dated June 14 said, "The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) express serious concern over the escalating tensions in the Middle East and strongly condemn the military strikes carried out by Israel on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran on June 13." China currently holds the chairmanship of the SCO. The influential economic and security bloc's members include Russia, India and Pakistan. The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established in 2001 in Shanghai in China by Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The SCO statement on the Israel-Iran situation claimed, "Such aggressive actions (by Israel) against civilian targets, including energy and transport infrastructure, which have resulted in civilian casualties, are a gross violation of international law and the United Nations Charter." They constitute an "infringement on Iran's sovereignty", cause damage to regional and international security, and pose "serious risks to global peace and stability," it argued. "The SCO member states firmly advocate for the resolution of the situation surrounding Iran's nuclear program exclusively through peaceful, political, and diplomatic means," the SCO statement said. India's association with the SCO began in 2005 as an observer country. It became a full member state of SCO at the Astana summit in 2017. Pakistan became its permanent member along with India in 2017. Iran in July 2023 had become a permanent member of the SCO at an India-hosted virtual summit of the grouping. MEA statement on Israel-Iran conflict The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India had communicated its position to other SCO members and did not participate in the discussions on the statement. Our Statement on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)⬇️ 🔗 — Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) June 14, 2025 "The SCO has issued a statement on recent developments between Israel and Iran. India's own position on the matter had been articulated by us on 13 June 2025, and remains the same," the MEA said in a statement. "We urge that channels of dialogue and diplomacy be utilised to work towards de-escalation and it is essential that the international community undertake endeavours in that direction," it said. What does this MEA statement really mean? It seems to suggest that Israel can attack Iran but that Iran should exercise restraint and not climb the escalatory ladder. Have we been reduced to being an abject apologist for Israel? We cannot even condemn Israel's attacks on and… — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 14, 2025 The MEA further said the "overall position of India as stated above was communicated to other SCO members". "Keeping that in mind, India did not participate in the discussions on the above-mentioned SCO statement," it added. In its statement on Saturday, the MEA said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar too discussed this matter with his Iranian counterpart on Friday and "conveyed the deep concern of the international community at the turn of events". "He also urged the avoidance of any escalatory steps and an early return to diplomacy," the statement said.
05-05-2025
- Business
Cyprus, Israel seek to establish electricity linkup via undersea cable
NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Cyprus and neighboring Israel are seeking to swiftly establish an electricity linkup via an undersea cable that would eliminate their respective energy isolation, an official said Monday. Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said that Israel is particularly keen to ensure that it can rely on Cypriot energy reserves from both conventional and renewable sources to power the country if the need ever arises. Pananastasiou told The Associated Press that Cyprus would soon have the capacity to generate around four gigawatts of electricity from fossil fuels as well as solar and wind sources, while consuming only 0.5 GW. Wind turbines and photovoltaics generate 1 GW of electricity, but licenses have been issued for construction of new wind and solar energy parks with a capacity of 2.8 GW. Conventional fuels generate 1.4 GW. The shared commitment for an electricity cable link was affirmed Sunday when Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a daylong visit to Israel and Ramallah, West Bank. Both leaders said that the electricity link would showcase the two countries' geographical location as the natural gateways between Europe and the Middle East. Papanastasiou said given this geographical advantage, the two leaders agreed to pursue the potential benefits from the establishment of a trade, energy and digital connectivity corridor between India, the Middle East and Europe. The corridor, known as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, was unveiled at the India-hosted Group of 20 summit of the world's leading rich and developing nations in 2023. Netanyahu said Sunday that he had recently spoken with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi about IMEC, which he said was 'a very revolutionary and transformative development that we want to bring into place.' Separately, an electricity cable project to link Greece with Cyprus is already underway. The 1.94 billion-euro ($2.19 billion) Great Seas Interconnector, or GSI, is partly funded by the European Union to the tune of 800 million euros ($903 million). Progress has been slowed because of Turkish objections over the cable's course. Turkey says the project can't proceed without its consent because the cable would pass through waters it claims are under its jurisdiction.
