Chinese Vice FM visits Russia as Beijing, Moscow political trust continues to deepen

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu paid a two-day visit to Russia from Thursday to Friday, and met with Russian Foreign Minister and other officials, with both sides agreeing to advancing bilateral ties to a higher level and make new progress in the new year.

During the visit for negotiations between diplomatic departments of the two countries, Ma met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials. They exchanged views on China-Russia relations, bilateral or multiple coordination between the two countries and global and regional issues of common concern.

The visit is believed to be one of regular meetings of diplomatic departments between the two countries. The interactions between China and Russia have frequently seen, from heads of state to diplomatic departments as the two sides strive to push forward bilateral relations, Zhang Hong, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Saturday.

To mark the new Year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, exchanged messages of new Year greetings on December 31.

On December 30, Xi met with Putin via video link, during which

Xi stressed that China and Russia should strengthen strategic coordination to bring more benefits to the two peoples and inject more stability into the world.

In January, Lavrov congratulated Qin Gang on taking office as the Chinese foreign minister and expressed that he looked forward to building a good working relationship with Qin so as to lead the two countries’ foreign ministries to continue their close cooperation.

During Ma’s visit, he emphasized that under the strategic guidance of the two countries’ heads of state, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has maintained

hate-speech by ramdev against muslims, christians draws ire

NEW DELHI Agencies high-level development, with deepening political trust, steadily advancing cooperation in various fields and closer international coordination.

Yoga guru and religious leader-cumbusinessman Baba Ramdev is not new to making controversial statements against Muslims and other minorities in India. In his latest tirade against the increasingly marginalised communities in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation, Ramdev has claimed that Muslims abduct Hindu women. At a recent Hindu religious event in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, Ramdev even called Muslims “terrorists, hardened criminals.” The event was organised in the name of Shri Dharm Puri Maharaj.

“Ask any Muslim what his religion preaches. He will tell you that you offer five times namaz and then do whatever you like – be it abducting a Hindu woman or committing any evil (paap),” claimed the controversial Yoga guru.

China is willing to work with Russia to implement the consensus reached by the top leaders of the two countries and to make new progress in bilateral ties in the new year, Ma noted.

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict was likely to be one of the topics to be addressed during the visit. The conflict has given rise to a number of challenges that require addressing, especially as the US continues to provoke tensions by offering Ukraine a stream of military assistance, Zhang noted.

The US has agreed to send longer-ranger bombs to Ukraine when the country makes efforts to launch a spring offensive against Russia, according to an AP report.

“The fact that the US is constantly assisting Ukraine with gradually stronger weapons, rather than pushing for peace talks only exposed the US intention of taking the conflict as a method to contain and consume Russia. Continually pouring advanced weapons into the war may further complicate the conflict, resulting in escalation of the conflict and great risk of catastrophic spillover of the Russia-Ukraine crisis,” Zhang noted. Agencies

“They think that the meaning of Islam is namaz and some of our Muslim brothers commit heinous crimes. But they definitely offer namaz because this is what they have been taught i.e. offer namaz and do whatever you want. They become terrorists, and turn into hardened criminals but offer namaz… This is not how Hinduism operates. Christians go to church, light candles, and stand before the idol of Jesus Christ to rid themselves of sins,” Ramdev ranted.

As the video of his speeches went viral on social media, several people slammed the yoga guru and asked the Rajasthan government to book him for the hate speeches.

Shaukat Ali, President of All India Majlis-eIttehadul Muslimeen’s Uttar Pradesh unit, asked the Rajasthan Congress whether they would file a case against him. “Such objectionable speeches against Islam are made by sadhu-sants who are the jokers of the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he said.

Another AIMIM leader and party’s national spokesperson, Waris Pathan, slammed Ramdev calling him a “fugitive” who ran away wearing salwar kameez (outfit meant for ladies). He said that Ramdev does not know anything about Islam. “If he knew what Islam really is he would have embraced Islam,” Pathan said. Qasim Rasul Ilyas, national president of the Welfare Party of India, urged Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, to take action against Ramdev forthwith. He said Ramdev should be booked for insulting Islam and Christianity. Rajya Sabha MP and Chairman of Congress’s minority department, Imran Pratapgarhi, condemned Ramdev’s remarks calling them “objectionable”.