Jan 27,2022:In talks that lasted more than eight hours, political advisors from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, who on Wednesday (26 January) met for talks in Paris, reaffirmed their commitment to uphold a ceasefire agreed in the so-called Minsk accords.
Four-way talks in the Normandy format, which brings together Ukrainian, Russian, German, and French officials to help end the conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, have stalled since November.
Earlier in January, senior French and German diplomats traveled to Moscow to see how the format could be revived, and held separate three-way talks with each of the sides.
Wednesday’s meeting was the first time all four parties meet since 2019, and was set to focus on humanitarian efforts and the possibility of formal talks on the status of the Donbas region.
The envoys “support unconditional respect for the ceasefire and full adherence to the ceasefire strengthening measures of 22 July 2020, regardless of differences on other issues relating to the implementation of the Minsk agreements,” the statement said.
Brokered by France and Germany, the Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015 aimed to resolve conflict in the east following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. The September 2014 Minsk agreement is basically a ceasefire.
The February 2015 Minsk protocol foresees the withdrawal of all foreign armed formations, military equipment, as well as mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine under the supervision of the OSCE and disarmament of all illegal groups. In parallel, it envisages carrying out constitutional reform in Ukraine that provide for decentralisation as a key element and local elections in Donetsk and Luhansk regions in compliance with relevant OSCE standards and monitored by the OSCE/ODIHR.
However, the accord, which is unclear about sequencing, faces the difficulty of reconciling Ukraine’s demand for full sovereignty over its territory with Russia’s insistence that the Russian-speaking people of eastern Ukraine receive autonomy.
A major blockage has been Moscow’s insistence that it is not a party to the conflict and therefore is not bound by its terms
Kyiv and its supporters have called it to be one-sided as it deals with the Ukrainian government and separatists in the east, but not Russia itself.
Provisions include a ceasefire, the withdrawal of heavy weaponry and exchanges of prisoners and hostages.
Both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly traded accusations of violating the Minsk Protocol.
Although major combat came to an end after the accord, ceasefire violations and minor clashes continue, and Eastern Ukrainian officials say they are unlikely to cease among the current tensions.
The talks in Paris have shown that the Normandy format talks on finding a peace settlement for eastern Ukraine had been revived, Andriy Yermak, advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Wednesday.
Yermak confirmed after the talks that all parties had indicated a willingness to work towards resolving existing disagreements.
ROME ,January 25,2022: The first round of the presidential elections in Italy, as expected, did not reveal a winner: most ballots were empty.
The votes were counted live by Roberto Fico, president of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament.
“Due to the fact that no candidate has gained two-thirds of the total number of votes, it is necessary to move on to the second round, which will be held on Tuesday starting at 15:00,” Fico said.
According to the voting results, 976 electors took part in the first round.
Jan 24,2022:The United States has ordered the families of all American staff at the US Embassy in Ukraine to leave the country amid heightened concern that Russia, which has massed troops on the border, is about to invade.
In a statement on Sunday, the State Department also said that non-essential embassy staff could leave Ukraine at government expense and that all Americans should consider departing immediately.
Russian military activity has fuelled growing concern in Washington and other Western capitals that it is planning to invade Ukraine, after annexing Crimea in 2014. Moscow has insisted it has no plans for an invasion.
Speaking on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rebuffed calls to immediately impose economic sanctions on Russia, saying that doing so would undercut the West’s ability to deter any potential Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Jan23,2022:The UK has accused the Kremlin of seeking to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine as fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine grow.
The Foreign Office said in a statement Russian intelligence officers had been in contact with a number of former Ukrainian politicians as part of plans for an invasion and that former parliamentarian Yevgen Murayev was being considered as a potential leader.
“The information being released today shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking,” said UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
“Russia must de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy.”
The British foreign ministry did not provide evidence to back its accusations.
Russia will face severe economic sanctions if it installs a “puppet regime” in Ukraine, Britain’s deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday.
“There’ll be very serious consequences if Russia takes this move to try and invade but also install a puppet regime,” Raab told Sky News.
‘Stop spreading nonsense’
Murayev, the man named by London, lost his seat in the Ukrainian parliament when his party failed to win five percent of the vote in the 2019 elections. He is the founder of TV channel Nash, which regulators have been seeking to shut down since last year, accusing it of airing pro-Russian propaganda.
Four other politicians named by the UK as possible Russian picks were Mykola Azarov, Sergiy Arbuzov, Andriy Kluyev, and Volodymyr Sivkovich.
Murayev said on Sunday his country needed new leadership.
“The Ukrainian people need rule of law, peace, sound and pragmatic economic and social policies, and new political leaders,” Murayev wrote on Facebook.
Moscow has insisted it has no plans to invade Ukraine, despite currently having about 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border. The Russian foreign ministry dismissed London’s claims as “disinformation” and urged London to “stop spreading nonsense”.
Assam is on course to become a ‘Har Ghar Jal’ state by the year 2024.
According to an official statement, Vini Mahajan, secretary, department of drinking water and sanitation (DDWS), appreciated the progress made by the state in providing tap water supply to rural homes, an official statement said.
“Assam is well on track to achieve the target of providing clean tap water supply to every home by 2024 and the Centre is providing full assistance to the state to achieve the goal,” Mahajan said during a review of the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission on Wednesday.
According to The Shillong Times, Assam chief secretary Jishnu Barua and state finance secretary Samir Sinha were present during the online review meeting which was also attended by DDWS officials.
“Jal Jeevan Mission is a decentralised, demand-driven, community-managed water supply scheme which aims to improve the lives of rural people by providing clean tap water supply to every home. She appreciated the work carried out by the state in the past six months,” Mahajan said.
During the announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission on August 15, 2019, only 1.11 lakh (1.76 percent) households out of 63.35 lakh households in the state had access to tap water supply.
In about 28 months, 17.46 lakh households in Assam have been provided with clean tap water.
In the last six months alone, clean tap water supply has been provided to more than 8.5 lakh households. The Assam chief secretary, while presenting the state’s performance said, “Considering the point from where we started with just one percent tap water coverage, we have made good progress. As the state started on a low base it took time to streamline the procedure for implementation of the programme. Now the remaining work will be carried out expeditiously.”
Speaking on the implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission, Mahajan said, “While the districts have self-declared themselves Open Defecation Free, but this is not a one-time effort. Efforts under the programme are being made to bring about social and behaviour change for sustainability of the ODF status of villages at all times.”