- 4 months ago
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed readiness to hold national polls within 60 to 90 days, provided the US and European allies guarantee security.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome, I'm Geeta Mohan and you're watching India Today Global.
00:04Now, after a long wait, Ukraine's election debate has indeed intensified.
00:08President Volodymyr Zelensky said he's ready to hold national polls within 60 to 90 days,
00:14provided the United States of America and his European allies guarantee security amid the ongoing war.
00:21Mahashweta Lala with this report.
00:30As pressure builds to end the Russia-Ukraine war after multiple meetings between major stakeholders,
00:38including the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and European countries,
00:42Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he's ready to conduct elections in the next 60 to 90 days.
00:49Thank you so much.
00:51But Zelensky has one condition.
00:52He has urged President Trump and the European allies to provide security guarantees to conduct elections.
01:00And since this question is raised by President of the United States, our partners,
01:10I will answer very briefly.
01:11I'm ready for the elections.
01:13Moreover, I ask now and I declare it openly the United States of America to help me,
01:19including together with European colleagues, ensure security for the elections.
01:24And then, the next 60 to 90 days, Ukraine will be ready to hold the elections.
01:28And I personally have the will and readiness for this.
01:36Zelensky put forth the difficulties in conducting the election amid war raging on.
01:43To hold the elections, there are two questions.
01:47First of all, security.
01:49How to do it under the strikes, under the missiles and in the relation to our troops?
01:54The question is how to vote.
01:56You know it.
01:57I don't want to repeat.
01:59And the second question is legislative basis for the legitimacy of the elections.
02:07The Ukrainian president's election comment followed Donald Trump's interview to Politico
02:13that Zelensky was using war as an excuse not to hold elections.
02:17To hold an election, do you think?
02:22Yeah, I think so.
02:24It's been a long time.
02:25It hasn't been doing particularly well.
02:28Yeah, I think it's time.
02:29I think it's an important time to hold an election.
02:32They're using war not to hold an election.
02:36Trump was slammed that there are only talks about democracy while it does not really exist.
02:41This is a political...
02:43They talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it's not a democracy anymore.
02:48Earlier, Zelensky met NATO chief and EU's Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa in Brussels.
02:58He also met Italian prime minister, Georgia Melanie.
03:02After discussing the U.S.-backed peace plan with NSAs of Europe and NATO,
03:06Zelensky believes that a refined proposal will be submitted to the U.S.
03:10Meanwhile, Russia said its armed forces had taken control over one more settlement
03:16in the Dnipropetros region while Ukraine reported repelling attacks from the Russian side.
03:24Russian forces said that they carried out strikes on Ukrainian military industrial facilities,
03:30energy and transportation infrastructure supporting the Ukrainian military
03:34and long-range drone launch sites.
03:38Mahashvita Lala, Beira Report, India Today.
03:46Will there be elections in Ukraine or not?
03:48To discuss this and more, I'm being joined by Ambassador William Taylor,
03:51former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.
03:53He's joining me from Washington, D.C.
03:55Ambassador Taylor, thank you so much for joining us.
03:58Now, we are looking at Zelensky announcing elections with guarantees from U.S. and EU.
04:03But all this comes after a lot of pressure from Trump.
04:07Is this an election that we're looking at under DURES?
04:11Well, Gita, there will not be an election in Ukraine unless there is a ceasefire,
04:19unless the Russians stop attacking Ukraine.
04:22And President Zelensky made that clear.
04:25You can't have an election.
04:27You cannot have an election while the Russians are bombarding cities
04:31and if people are lining up to vote at polling stations,
04:36they are vulnerable to be attacked by the Russians.
04:39So there will not be an election in Ukraine until the Russians stop their aggression,
04:46stop the bombardment, enter into a ceasefire with the Ukrainians.
04:50President Trump says war is an excuse for Zelensky to continue staying in power.
04:57How would he react to the statement by the American president?
05:02And is that the case really here?
05:05No, it is not the case.
05:07It is not the case.
05:08President Zelensky has made it clear before,
05:10and he's made it clear again today,
05:13that he's ready to go to elections.
05:15He can't go to elections while the Russians are attacking him.
05:19Legally, he can't go to elections while there is martial law,
05:23which is in place during the Russian aggression.
05:27So President Zelensky is very clear.
05:29He's ready to go for elections.
05:30He has been and is and will be,
05:33but it cannot be an election.
05:36He cannot conduct an election until the Russians stop the ceasefiring.
05:41So Zelensky is not using this as an excuse.
05:44Well, Ambassador Taylor, we recently spoke with President Putin himself,
05:49and when asked about the negotiations and the endgame,
05:53he actually for the first time spoke about negotiations,
05:55and that if there needs to be a resolution,
05:58it has to come through the negotiating table.
06:01What are the red lines over here?
06:02Do you envisage a final draft where there could very well be a resolution
06:07to the entire conflict that we're seeing between the two countries?
06:11If President Putin is willing to stop the war,
06:15stop attacking Ukraine,
06:17recognize Ukraine as a sovereign nation,
06:21freeze the front line along the current lines,
06:24yes, I think it's possible.
06:26But I have to tell you, Gita,
06:28there is no indication that I've seen
06:31that President Putin is ready to end this war and negotiations.
06:36Well, but then again, you know,
06:38we're seeing a lot of flip-flop from the American Trump administration.
06:43How do you think the European Union is going to carry forward
06:46and support Ukraine should U.S. walk out of the entire support structure?
06:50Because that's the security guarantee
06:52that President Zelensky is really asking for.
06:55And in a recent Doha summit or conversation forum,
07:00Donald Trump Jr. made it very clear
07:02that almost saying that they're siding with Russia
07:06because the conversations with Russia have moved forward,
07:09but none with Ukraine.
07:11Actually, that's not true, Gita.
07:13It's just not true.
07:15The Ukrainians and the Americans have come to an agreement
07:17several times on ceasefires.
07:20And when they took that agreement,
07:21those agreements, to the Russians,
07:24the Russians said no.
07:25Putin has said no.
07:26So there's been plenty of relations and agreements
07:29between the Americans and the Ukrainians.
07:32The Russians have turned it down.
07:34President Trump is not going to walk away from Ukraine.
07:39President Trump has a lot invested.
07:41He has been at this to his credit.
07:44He's been working on this since before the election,
07:47before his election.
07:49He's not going to walk away.
07:50He wants to end this war.
07:52That's what needs to happen.
07:53The way this war ends is Putin stops fighting.
07:57Putin started this war,
07:59and Putin can end this war.
08:01And President Trump has the leverage
08:03to force Putin to stop this war.
08:07Okay.
08:07A very significant statement coming from you,
08:09Ambassador Taylor.
08:10You're saying President Trump
08:11is not going to walk out of this one.
08:14He's not walking back.
08:15Thank you so much for joining me.
08:16Thank you for having me.
08:22Amid Rao over changes in H-1B visa
08:24and immigration policies,
08:26the U.S. State Department has confirmed
08:2885,000 visas have been revoked since January.
08:32In a post on X,
08:34the State Department said
08:3585,000 visa revocation since January.
08:38President Trump and Secretary Rubio
08:40adhere to one simple mandate,
08:42and they won't stop anytime soon.
08:44It also posted a picture of Trump
08:46with text,
08:48Make America Safe Again.
08:50According to a department official,
08:528,000 of the revoked visas
08:54belonged to students,
08:55and key reasons for revocation
08:57were driving under influence,
09:00theft, and assault.
09:01Earlier visas of those
09:03who were accused of celebrating
09:04the killing of activist Charlie Kirk
09:06were also revoked.
09:07International students
09:08who have joined in pro-Palestine protests,
09:11too, have come under scrutiny.
09:12The administration has also increased
09:14vetting of H-1B visa applicants,
09:17a key program for U.S. employers
09:19seeking specialized foreign talent.
09:25Now, it was a major embarrassment
09:27for Pakistan when its interior minister,
09:29Mohsin Nakweeskar,
09:31was stopped by British officials
09:33outside the U.K. foreign office
09:34in London for a thorough search.
09:36Though it's unclear whether it was
09:38a routine check or prompted
09:40by specific reasons,
09:42the video of the search of his vehicle
09:44has gone viral.
09:46Nakwee was in the U.K.
09:47to hold discussions,
09:48reportedly including talks
09:50on the extradition of individuals
09:53such as Shahzad Akbar
09:54and Adil Raja,
09:55people we've spoken with
09:57who sit in London
10:00but also question
10:01the establishment in Pakistan.
10:03The video was first shared
10:04by Pakistani journalist
10:06Sayyid Yousafzai.
10:08Though there are no official confirmation,
10:10reports suggest that the authorities
10:12were searching the Pakistani minister's car
10:14for materials which included
10:16explosives and narcotics.
10:17India's economy is booming
10:26but the rupee has just crashed
10:28past 90 per dollar
10:30for the first time,
10:31triggering shockwaves
10:32across markets and households.
10:35Rising imports and foreign outflows
10:37are piling under pressure
10:38on the currency.
10:40So is this a temporary slide
10:41or India's new normal?
10:44Shorik Saha reports.
10:47This week,
10:52the rupee delivered
10:53a shock of its own,
10:54crashing past 90 per dollar
10:56for the first time ever.
10:58So how can a booming economy
10:59and a falling currency coexist?
11:04Experts say it's simple.
11:06GDP tells you
11:07what's happening inside India.
11:09The rupee tells you
11:10what's happening to India
11:11in the world outside.
11:14Right now,
11:15global forces are hitting
11:17the rupee from all sides.
11:19A strong U.S. dollar,
11:21high American interest rates,
11:23geopolitical tensions
11:25and rising global commodity prices.
11:28They're all pulling the rupee down.
11:31At the same time,
11:32India's own growth,
11:33it's creating its own pressure.
11:36A fast-growing economy
11:37needs more oil,
11:38more electronics,
11:40more metals,
11:40which means more dollars going out.
11:43And in the delayed India-U.S. trade deal,
11:47record high prices
11:48for crude metals and gold
11:50and nearly 18 billion
11:51in foreign investor outflows.
11:54And the slide was almost inevitable.
11:58But what about the RBI?
12:00It's holding its fire.
12:02The central bank is letting the rupee find its level
12:05instead of defending any specific number,
12:09stepping in only to curb wild swings,
12:12not to hold a line.
12:13So what does all this mean
12:16for people watching at home?
12:19Travel, education and imported goods
12:22will get a little more expensive.
12:25Business dependent on foreign inputs
12:27will feel the pinch.
12:28But exporters,
12:29IT firms,
12:30families receiving remittances
12:32actually benefit
12:33when the rupee weakens.
12:35The bottom line,
12:38a strong economy
12:39doesn't always mean
12:40a strong currency.
12:42And right now,
12:43India's domestic engine
12:44is roaring,
12:45even as global headwinds
12:47keep the rupee under pressure.
12:51The question is,
12:52will the rupee bounce back
12:54or is 90 the new normal?
12:57With Saurik Saha,
12:58Bureau Report,
12:59India Today Global.
13:03Nepal's Pokhara International Airport
13:05has exploded into a corruption scandal
13:07with Chinese contractors
13:08CAMCE accused
13:10of doubling costs,
13:12leaving work incomplete
13:13and creating technical failures.
13:16What was billed
13:17as modern progress
13:18is now a financial
13:19and operational burden.
13:21How did it unravel?
13:23Jyoti Shukla with this report.
13:25Nepal's shiny new Pokhara International Airport
13:36was meant to be a symbol
13:37of modern aviation.
13:39Instead,
13:40it has turned into the centre
13:41of one of the country's
13:42biggest corruption scandals
13:44and this time,
13:45the finger is pointed straight
13:46at Beijing's construction arm.
13:49Nepal's anti-graft agency,
13:51the CIAA
13:52has charged
13:5355 individuals
13:54including China,
13:55CAMC Engineering,
13:57a state-linked giant
13:58over what investigators
14:00call
14:00inflated costs,
14:02false billing
14:02and deliberate manipulation.
14:05The numbers are staggering.
14:07Pokhara Airport
14:07was cleared
14:08at $145 million
14:10but the cost
14:11ballooned
14:12to $286.5 million
14:14almost double.
14:16Investigators say
14:17that didn't happen
14:18by accident.
14:20According to the Commission
14:21for the Investigation
14:22of Abuse of Authority,
14:23China's CAMC
14:24acted with bad intentions,
14:26pushed up costs
14:27without justification
14:28and pressured
14:29Nepali officials
14:30to uptrove inflated figures
14:32to secure
14:32illegal benefits.
14:34Letters were allegedly
14:35sent to bureaucrats
14:36asking them
14:37to raise the project price
14:38even before
14:39the tender process
14:40moved ahead.
14:41And the problems
14:41didn't end
14:42with the accounting.
14:43A parliamentary sub-panel
14:44found that millions
14:45were paid for work
14:46simply never done.
14:47$5.5 million
14:49for suitable soil
14:51delivered?
14:52No.
14:53$4.4 million
14:54to level
14:55and press the runway
14:56completed?
14:57Also no.
14:58Drainage worth
14:59costing $10.6 million?
15:01Again,
15:02nothing on the ground.
15:04Even AC installation
15:05turned into
15:06a billing mess
15:07with Nepal
15:07forced to pay
15:08an extra $742,000.
15:11Add to that
15:12a tax exemption
15:13worth $2.2 billion
15:14granted to the Chinese firm
15:16despite a contract
15:17that explicitly
15:18required them
15:19to pay taxes.
15:21And the airport
15:22itself
15:22operational
15:23yes
15:24but flawed.
15:26A high-level
15:26aviation report
15:27says design
15:28limitations
15:29now restrict
15:30aircraft load
15:30capacity,
15:32impact takeoffs
15:32and keep
15:33most international
15:34airlines away.
15:35Only one foreign
15:36flight currently
15:37operates
15:38a weekly
15:38Pokhara-Lasa route
15:40notably
15:40via a Nepal-China
15:42joint venture.
15:43So now
15:44what was once
15:45showcased as
15:46China-backed
15:47development cooperation
15:48has turned into
15:49a legal and
15:49diplomatic headache.
15:51Nepal's investigators
15:52want accountability,
15:54Beijing's state
15:54contractor
15:55stands accused
15:56and the Pokhara
15:57airport
15:57meant to make
15:58Nepal sore
15:59is struggling
16:00to get off the ground.
16:02With Jyoti Shukla,
16:03we'll report
16:03India Today Global.
16:06And let's take a look
16:07at some other stories
16:08we couldn't touch upon
16:09in detail
16:10in World at a Glance.
16:12Venezuelan opposition
16:24leader Maria Corina
16:26Machado was awarded
16:27this year's
16:27Nobel Peace Prize
16:28in absentia.
16:30Her daughter
16:30Anna Corina Sosa
16:31Machado
16:32accepted the
16:33prestigious
16:33Nobel Medal
16:34and accompanying
16:35certificate
16:36at the awards
16:37ceremony
16:37in Oslo City Hall.
16:39The Norwegian
16:40Nobel Committee
16:40announced in
16:41October that
16:42it had selected
16:43Machado
16:43as the recipient
16:44of the 2025
16:45Peace Prize
16:46because of her
16:47commitment
16:48to the democratic
16:49rights of the
16:50Venezuelan people
16:51to whom she
16:52dedicated her award.
16:54Machado,
16:54who lives in
16:55hiding,
16:56is a staunch
16:56opponent of
16:57Venezuelan's
16:58authoritarian
16:58president,
16:59Nicolas Maduro.
17:00As tensions rise
17:05between Beijing and
17:06Tokyo, Russian and
17:08Chinese air forces
17:09conducted joint patrols
17:10over the East China Sea
17:12and the western part
17:13of the Pacific Ocean.
17:14Two Russian Tu-95
17:16nuclear-capable strategic
17:18bombers flew from the
17:19Sea of Japan towards
17:21the East China Sea to
17:22rendezvous with two
17:23Chinese H-6 bombers.
17:24Chinese fighter jets
17:26made round-trip flight
17:27between Japan's
17:28Okinawa and Miyako
17:30Islands.
17:31This is the 10th joint
17:32strategic air patrol
17:33organized by the two
17:34militaries since 2019.
17:41Congolese president
17:42has accused
17:43neighboring Rwanda
17:44of violating its
17:45commitments just days
17:47after attending a
17:48ceremony in Washington
17:49to sign deals
17:50that aimed to end
17:51years of conflict
17:52in the country's
17:53mineral-rich East.
17:55The Congolese
17:55president has made
17:56the acquisitions
17:57in a speech
17:58to lawmakers.
17:59There was no
18:00immediate response
18:01from Rwanda.
18:02Meanwhile,
18:03deadly clashes
18:04have marred efforts
18:05to begin implementing
18:06the terms of
18:06U.S. and Qatar
18:07brokered agreements
18:08signed in recent months
18:10between Congo,
18:11Rwanda and
18:12the rebel group
18:13M23.
18:18Australia's
18:18world-first
18:19social media ban
18:20is taking effect,
18:22legally barring
18:22children younger
18:23than 16 from
18:24holding accounts
18:25with Facebook,
18:26Instagram,
18:27Kik,
18:27Reddit,
18:28Snapchat,
18:29Threads,
18:30TikTok,
18:31X,
18:31YouTube and
18:32Twitch.
18:33The platforms
18:34face fines of
18:35up to $49.5
18:36million Australian
18:37dollars if they
18:38fail to take
18:39reasonable steps
18:40to remove the
18:40accounts.
18:42A Directions
18:42hearing will be
18:43held in late
18:44February to set
18:45a hearing date
18:46for the
18:46constitutional challenge
18:47that will be
18:48heard by the
18:49full bench
18:49of seven judges.
18:51Meta,
18:51which owns
18:52Facebook,
18:52Instagram and
18:53Threads,
18:54was the first
18:55tech giant to
18:55react,
18:56beginning to
18:57exclude suspected
18:58young children
18:58from last week.
18:59That's all on
19:03this edition of
19:03India Today
19:04Global.
19:04But before I
19:05go, here's a
19:05deep dive.
19:06The IMF is
19:07writing billion
19:08dollar checks,
19:09Washington is
19:09rolling out the
19:10red carpet and
19:11Pakistan is
19:12suddenly strategically
19:13important again.
19:14But beneath the
19:15glamour lies the
19:16old machine of
19:17proxies, leverage
19:18and shadow
19:19networks.
19:20How long will
19:21the world pretend?
19:22Watch
19:22Straight Craft to
19:23find out.
19:24Goodbye and take
19:25again.
19:25The IMF is
19:37bailing out
19:38Pakistan yet
19:39again and the
19:40world is supposed
19:40to pretend it
19:41doesn't know the
19:42script by heart.
19:43The crisis, the
19:44plea, the bailout,
19:46the promises, the
19:47quiet diversions and
19:49the inevitable return
19:50to the same pit of
19:51denial.
19:52This time, however,
19:54the story is wrapped
19:55in something more
19:56dangerous, something
19:57more calculated,
19:59something more
20:00politically loaded.
20:01Because 2025 isn't
20:03just another year of
20:04Pakistan running out
20:05of money.
20:06It's the year Islamabad
20:08discovered a fresh
20:09source of confidence.
20:10It's new, carefully
20:12engineered closeness to
20:13the United States of
20:14America.
20:15Washington is
20:16warming up again.
20:17The doors of the
20:18White House are open to
20:19Pakistan's army
20:20chief.
20:21And right in the
20:22middle of this
20:22diplomatic choreography
20:24comes the IMF,
20:26signing off on
20:27billions while the
20:28entire world knows
20:29exactly where
20:30Pakistan's free fiscal
20:31space tends to
20:32flow after every
20:34bailout.
20:35At what point does
20:36this cycle stop
20:37pretending to be
20:38about economics and
20:39start admitting what
20:41everyone is thinking?
20:43Hello and welcome.
20:43You're watching
20:44Stagecraft with me
20:45Geeta Mohan.
20:50Delhi's argument is clear.
20:55Money is fungible.
20:57If the IMF covers
20:58Pakistan's fiscal fire,
21:01Islamabad's own revenue
21:02can quietly slip into the
21:03shadows where it has
21:05historically maintained
21:06state-sponsored assets.
21:08India bluntly warned
21:10that these bailouts risk
21:12enabling exactly the
21:13behavior Pakistan claims
21:15to be reforming.
21:16And when the
21:17Pahalgam terror attack
21:18unfolded, followed by
21:19India's military response,
21:21the IMF itself quietly
21:23added new conditions,
21:25not because of
21:26compassion, but because
21:27geopolitical heat
21:29affects economic risk.
21:31Why does the IMF
21:32pretend otherwise?
21:34Pakistan's entire
21:36struggle with the
21:37FATF sits like a ghost
21:39over this entire
21:402025 bailout drama.
21:42Only in October 2022
21:43did Pakistan finally
21:45fight its way off
21:46the FATF grey list
21:47after years of
21:48warnings, humiliations
21:50and pressure.
21:51For four long years,
21:53the FATF found that
21:54Pakistan's legal,
21:55supervisory and
21:57enforcement systems
21:58simply were not
21:59preventing terror
22:00financing.
22:02Charities used as
22:03fronts, informal
22:04money networks
22:04untouched, political
22:06reluctance to go after
22:07certain groups.
22:08And the timing is
22:10not subtle.
22:12Pakistan's lobbying
22:13machine in Washington
22:14has been aggressively
22:15reactivated, hiring
22:16firms close to the
22:17Trump administration,
22:19organizing high-level
22:20visits, pushing
22:21conferences and
22:22executing a
22:23deliberate charm
22:24offensive fronted by
22:26its military
22:26leadership.
22:27None of this is
22:29accidental and none
22:30of this is divorced
22:31from the IMF's
22:33willingness to keep
22:33Pakistan afloat.
22:35Can anyone still
22:36pretend the IMF is
22:37apolitical?
22:38While IMF money
22:40cannot be used for
22:41defense or terror
22:42financing, of course,
22:44explicitly prohibited
22:45in the program, the
22:47logic of fungibility
22:48remains the central
22:50concern.
22:51When IMF money
22:52fills the external
22:53financing gaps,
22:54Pakistan's domestic
22:56resources become
22:57unshackled.
22:59And that is exactly
23:00what India warns the
23:02world about.
23:03If Pakistan wants to
23:04keep feeding certain
23:05networks, certain
23:06proxies, certain
23:08operations, all it
23:09needs is fresh
23:10oxygen for its budget
23:12lines.
23:13The IMF doesn't fund
23:15terrorism directly, but
23:16it indirectly enables a
23:19state with a long
23:20record of tolerating
23:21terror financing
23:22structures.
23:24India's abstentions
23:25weren't diplomatic
23:26theater.
23:27They were a direct
23:28shot at the heart of
23:29Pakistan's credibility.
23:32IMF can deny it.
23:33Pakistan can spin it.
23:35The U.S. can
23:36overlook it.
23:37But India will
23:38continue reminding the
23:39world that money is
23:40fungible, terror networks
23:42thrive on shadows, and
23:44Pakistan's history carries
23:45weight.
23:46The U.S.
Comments