NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed to Europe on Monday with New Delhi’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine set to be a key talking point in meetings with regional leaders.
India, which imports much of its military hardware from Russia, has long walked a diplomatic tightrope between the West and Moscow, and has called only for an immediate end to hostilities.
“My visit to Europe comes at a time when the region faces many challenges and choices,” Modi said in a statement released before his departure for Germany, Denmark and France.
The premier intended to “strengthen the spirit of cooperation” with European partners “who are important companions in India’s quest for peace and prosperity,” the statement added.
Modi was due to hold talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Monday before heading to Copenhagen to join the prime ministers of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway at a two-day India-Nordic Summit from May 3.
He will then make a brief stopover in France to see President Emmanuel Macron to “share assessments on various regional and global issues and will take stock of ongoing bilateral cooperation,” the Indian statement said.
Germany’s Scholz was quoted by the Indian Express daily on Monday as saying the “attack on Ukraine by Russia is on the top of the agenda” in the discussions with Modi.
“The brutality of the Russian attack is shocking and appalling. Those responsible must be held accountable. I am confident that there is broad agreement between our countries on this,” the newspaper quoted Scholz as saying in an interview.
Scholz plans to invite Modi as a special guest to a Group of Seven (G7) leaders’ summit next month as part of an effort to forge a broader alliance against Russia, Bloomberg News reported Sunday.
Quoting unnamed sources, the report said Scholz was concerned over Modi’s refusal to condemn Russia and India’s increased fossil fuel imports from there, and was undecided on the invite until weeks ago.
India has significantly increased imports of Russian oil from March onwards, but has bristled at criticism of the move, saying Europe’s consumption of Russian energy commodities remains far higher.
In a media briefing on Sunday, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said European countries “not only understand but also have deep appreciation” of India’s position on the conflict.
The principal focus of the visits and discussions is to strengthen bilateral partnership across a range of areas including trade, energy and sustainable development, Kwatra said.
With Russia reeling under Western sanctions, some 50 Indian food, ceramics and chemicals exporters will head to Moscow later this month after enquiries from Russian firms, the Times of India newspaper reported on Monday.
“Trade and financial sanctions imposed on Russia... have opened up numerous avenues for Indian businesses across various sectors,” the newspaper quoted Vivek Agarwal from lobby group the Trade Promotion Council of India, which is organizing the trip, as saying.
“Indian companies too are excited to tap the huge potential available for Indian products in Russia,” he told the newspaper.
The daily quoted unnamed government officials as suggesting that shipments would only start once the war in Ukraine ends.
Ukraine on agenda as Indian PM Narendra Modi heads to Europe
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Ukraine on agenda as Indian PM Narendra Modi heads to Europe
- India has long walked a diplomatic tightrope between the West and Moscow
UK working with Israel to arrange charter flights out of Tel Aviv, Lammy says
“As part of our efforts to support British nationals in the Middle East, the government is working with the Israeli authorities to provide charter flights from Tel Aviv airport when airspace reopens,” Lammy said in a statement.
Israel’s main international gateway, Ben Gurion Airport, closed last week due to Israel and Iran’s spiralling air war.
On Monday, the British government advised its citizens in Israel to register their presence with British authorities, saying it was monitoring the situation and considering options for assistance.
It said it had increased its logistical support for citizens who have turned to overland routes into Jordan and Egypt.
Taiwan to hold recall election for lawmakers that could reshape parliament
TAIPEI: Taiwan will hold a recall vote for around one quarter of parliament’s lawmakers — all from the main opposition party — next month, the election commission said on Friday, a move which could see the ruling party take back control of the legislature.
While Lai Ching-te won the presidency last year, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its parliamentary majority, leaving the Kuomintang (KMT) and the much smaller Taiwan People’s Party with the most seats.
The KMT and the TPP have passed a series of measures, including swingeing budget cuts, angering the DPP, though the campaigns to gather enough signatures for the recalls were led by civic groups.
The opposition has 62 of parliament’s 113 seats and the DPP holds the remaining 51. The recall votes for 24 KMT lawmakers will take place on July 26, the election commission said.
The DPP has given full support for the recalls, releasing a video this week calling on people to vote yes and “oppose the communists” — a direct reference to China and what the party says is the opposition’s dangerous cosying up to Beijing.
The KMT has vowed to fight what it calls a “malicious recall” that comes so soon after the last parliamentary election in January 2024.
“The KMT calls on the people of Taiwan to oppose the green communists and fight against dictatorship, and vote ‘no’,” the party said in a statement after the recall vote was announced, referring to the DPP’s party colors.
The KMT says its engagement with China, which views separately-governed Taiwan as its own territory, is needed to keep channels of communication open and reduce tensions.
China has rejected multiple offers of talks from Lai, branding him a “separatist,” and has increased military pressure against the island.
Recall campaigns against DPP lawmakers failed to gather enough valid signatures.
For the recalls to be successful, the number of votes approving the measure must be more than those opposing it, and also exceed one-quarter of the number of registered voters in the constituency, so turnout will be important.
If the recall votes are successful, there will be by-elections later this year to select new lawmakers.
Taiwan’s next parliamentary and presidential elections are not scheduled until early 2028.
Belgium announces border checks in migration clampdown
- A spokesperson for the Belgian Immigration Office said it was difficult to give figures for illegal immigration at the moment without the systematic border checks
BRUSSELS: Belgium will introduce border checks on people coming into the country to clamp down on illegal migration, the government said, in another limit on free movement across Europe’s Schengen zone.
The restrictions in the country that borders the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg and Germany will start this summer, a spokesperson for the junior minister for migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, said on Friday.
“Time for entry controls. Belgium must not be a magnet for those stopped elsewhere. Our message is clear: Belgium will no longer tolerate illegal migration and asylum shopping,” Van Bossuyt wrote on X.
The announcement follows similar moves by the Netherlands and Germany, part of a broader crackdown on migration across the continent, even as numbers of arrivals on many major routes have shown signs of falling.
“The checks will be carried out in a targeted manner on major access roads such as motorway car parks, on bus traffic ... on certain trains ... and on intra-Schengen flights from countries with high migration pressure, such as Greece and Italy,” a Belgian government statement said late on Thursday.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever, in office since February, has said curbing migration is a key priority for his right-leaning government.
Belgium is part of the open-border Schengen area which guarantees free travel between its 29 member states. Under article 23 of the Schengen Borders Code, members can temporarily reinstate border checks in response to security or migration pressures.
A spokesperson for the Belgian Immigration Office said it was difficult to give figures for illegal immigration at the moment without the systematic border checks.
Belgium, one of the world’s richest countries, received 39,615 asylum applications in 2024, 11.6 percent more than in 2023, numbers from the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers show.
The country had the capacity to take in 35,600 applicants in 2024, according to the figures, leaving many arrivals without proper accommodation.
Iran-Israel war could have ‘harmful’ migration impact on Europe, Erdogan warns
ISTANBUL: The Iran-Israel air war could spark a surge in migration that could harm Europe and the region, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Friday.
Israel, saying Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched a massive wave of strikes a week ago, triggering an immediate retaliation.
“The spiral of violence triggered by Israel’s attacks could harm the region and Europe in terms of migration and the possibility of nuclear leakage,” his office quoted him as saying in a phone conversation with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Erdogan said the solution to the nuclear disagreements with Iran was “through negotiations.” He said the violence had “raised the threat to regional security to the highest level” and Turkiye was “making efforts to end the conflict.”
Despite the escalating confrontation, a Turkish defense ministry source said Thursday there had been “no increase” in numbers crossing from Iran.
The Turkish authorities have not released any figures.
AFP correspondents at the main Kapikoy border crossing near the eastern Turkish city of Van reported seeing several hundred people crossing in both directions, with a customs official saying the numbers were “nothing unusual.”
During a visit to the frontier on Wednesday, Defense Minister Yasar Guler said “security measures at our borders have been increased.”
Armed men in western Niger kill 34 soldiers and wound 14, authorities say
DAKAR: Armed men killed 34 soldiers and wounded 14 others in western Niger near the tri-state border with Mali and Burkina Faso, the defense ministry said.
The attack was carred out around 9 a.m. Thursday in Banibangou by attackers using eight vehicles and more than 200 motorbikes, the ministry said in a statement.
The government said its forces killed dozens of attackers it called “terrorists,” adding that search operations by land and air were being conduted to find additional assailants.
Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by jihadi groups, including some allied with Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group.
Following military coups in the three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance. The three countries have vowed to strengthen their cooperation by establishing a new security alliance, the Alliance of Sahel States.
But the security situation in the Sahel, a vast region on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, has significantly worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed by Islamic militants and government forces.
