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Germany Looks to Strengthen Defense, Military Ties With India

09 October 2024, Saxony, Leipzig: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during the 35th anniversary of the peaceful revolution in Leipzig, at the Geandhaus. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Pool/dpa
09 October 2024, Saxony, Leipzig: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during the 35th anniversary of the peaceful revolution in Leipzig, at the Geandhaus. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Pool/dpa
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Germany Looks to Strengthen Defense, Military Ties With India

09 October 2024, Saxony, Leipzig: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during the 35th anniversary of the peaceful revolution in Leipzig, at the Geandhaus. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Pool/dpa
09 October 2024, Saxony, Leipzig: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during the 35th anniversary of the peaceful revolution in Leipzig, at the Geandhaus. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Pool/dpa

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday he wanted to deepen defense ties with New Delhi and bring the two countries' militaries closer, in comments following a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Germany, which has not traditionally had close defense ties with India, is now pitching to join the latter's effort to wean its arms base from decades of dependence on Russia, at a time when the West seeks to counter China's growing influence, Reuters said.
"Our overall message is clear, we need more co-operation, not less," Scholz said.
"At our inter-governmental consultations with India, we also want to deepen co-operation in defense and agree to bring our militaries together."
Scholz, accompanied by most of his cabinet, is leading a high-level delegation to New Delhi, betting that greater access to the vast Indian market can reduce Germany's reliance on China.
German Thyssenkrupp is one of two bidders that have partnered with Indian firms to build six conventional submarines in India, in a deal estimated to be worth $5 billion.
The Indian Navy is expected to pick between the German company or Spain's Navantia soon.
Scholz reiterated his economy minister's comments on pushing for swift progress on talks for a free-trade pact between India and the European Union.
Earlier, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal warned that India would be unable to strike such a deal if the bloc insisted on getting access to the Asian giant's dairy industry.
The two sides initially aimed to wrap up talks on the pact by the end of 2023, but progress has been slow, with India blaming the EU for what it called "irrational" standards as one reason.
A trade deal could be concluded swiftly if sensitivities were respected on both sides, Goyal told the Asia-Pacific conference of German business in the Indian capital, attended by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
On Thursday, Habeck had said agriculture was the "most problematic" area in the deal talks, suggesting it would be better if the two sides focused first on the industrial sector.

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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)

Georgia's president called for protests on Monday following a disputed parliamentary election, and the United States and the European Union urged a full investigation into reports of violations in the voting.
The results, with almost all precincts counted, were a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast Saturday's election as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe, said Reuters.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said on Sunday they had registered incidents of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and ballot-stuffing that could have affected the outcome, but they stopped short of saying the election was rigged.
President Salome Zourabichvili urged people to take to the streets to protest against the results of the ballot, which the electoral commission said the ruling party had won.
In an address on Sunday, she referred to the result as a "Russian special operation". She did not clarify what she meant by the term.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, of which Zourabichvili is a fierce critic, clinched nearly 54% of the vote, the commission said, as opposition parties contested the outcome and vote monitors reported significant violations.
Georgian media cited Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as saying on Monday that the opposition was attempting to topple the "constitutional order" and that his government remained committed to European integration.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States joined calls from observers for a full probe.
"Going forward, we encourage Georgia's political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together," Blinken said in a statement.
Earlier, the European Union urged Georgia to swiftly and transparently investigate the alleged irregularities in the vote.
"The EU recalls that any legislation that undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of Georgian citizens and runs counter to the values and principles upon which the EU is founded, must be repealed," the European Commission said in a joint statement with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
President Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally who won the 2018 presidential vote as an independent, urged Georgians to protest in the center of the capital Tbilisi on Monday evening, to show the world "that we do not recognize these elections".
For years, Georgia was one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the Soviet Union, with polls showing many Georgians disliking Russia for its support of two breakaway regions of their country.
Russia defeated Georgia in their brief war over the rebel province of South Ossetia in 2008.
The election result poses a challenge to the EU's ambition to expand by bringing in more former Soviet states.
Moldova earlier this month narrowly approved adding a clause to the constitution defining EU accession as a goal. Moldovan officials said Russia meddled in the election, a claim denied by Moscow.