| 
Keep off Iran and Syria: Russia
- Russia warned the West against military intervention in Iran and Syria and rejected unilateral sanctions
against the two nations. and told that the war would provoke an exodus of refugees from Iran to Azerbaijan and Russia, would pour fuel into the simmering Shia-Sunni conflict and trigger a chain reaction.- The Russian Foreign Minister said Moscow would block any Western attempts to obtain United Nations mandate for military interference in Syria.
- West's unilateral sanctions against Iran, such as the proposed oil embargo, were “aimed at suffocating the Iranian economy” and “inciting popular discontent.”
- Moscow made it plain that it would obstruct Western plans to throttle Iran's oil exports — a move that acquired traction after the U.S. passed a law meant to discourage buyers from importing Iranian oil.
- Analysts point out that countries such as China, India and Russia have generally abided by the U.N. sanctions against Iran, but have firmly opposed imposition of unilateral sanctions — outside the U.N. framework — that have been enforced by the U.S. and its core western allies.
- Iran was ready for a resumption of talks with international mediators and hinted that Europe and the United States were imposing new sanctions at this juncture with the specific purpose of torpedoing further negotiations.
- Undersecretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Baqeri on Wednesday arrived in Moscow for two days of negotiations on the coming talks with the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany (P5+1)
- In yet another indication that nuclear diplomacy was getting into top gear, a team of IAEA inspectors was heading to Iran on January 29
- Turkey said it was likely to host talks between Iran and the global powers.
- Aware of the perception that Saudi Arabia was the “swing player” in the energy market, Tehran urged Riyadh not to exaggerate their capabilities as earlier SA expressed its view that it could immediately raise daily production by two million barrels in case sanctions were imposed against Iran.
“Between 2005-2009, Indo-U.S. FDI up by 165 %”
- After inaugurating an ‘American Business Corner' (ABC) at the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, experts while delivering an interactive session on ‘U.S. India Business Growth Potential in Tier II Cities', said:
- The Indo-U.S. foreign direct investment increased by nearly 165 per cent between 2005 and 2009 alone
- U.S. exports to India had quadrupled over the last decade while Indian exports to the U.S. had grown by 180 per cent.
- The future of bilateral trade between the two countries would be driven by mid-sized companies and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
- Being the first ABC was both an opportunity and a challenge as each of the subsequent ones coming up in Punjab, Orissa and Maharashtra
- India was at present the 12{+t}{+h}largest trade partner of the U.S.
- India exported textile, stones, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel to the U.S., its imports include products such as polished stones and optical equipment.
