Amid the continued tension between India-China due to prolonged border clash, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting, on Friday, with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe in Moscow to resolve the crisis.
According to a report of news agency PTI, Singh, in his conversation with Wei, pushed for restoration of status quo ante at all frictional points in eastern Ladakh.
Singh and Wei met on the sidelines of Defence Ministers meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Oraganisation after the latter had urged for a meeting on Thursday. As per the sources, the two leaders held talks for abour 2 hours and 20 minutes. Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and Indian Ambassador to Russia D B Venkatesh Varma were also a part of the talks that took place at a prominent hotel in Moscow.
“The meeting between Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh and Chinese Defence Minister, General Wei Fenghe in Moscow is over. The meeting lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes,” Singh’s office tweeted.
Ahead of the meeting, speaking at a seminar in New Delhi organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla, said India will remain committed to secure its ‘territorial integrity and sovereignty’ amid tension on the border, however, he said that we are also “willing to talk” to resolve the issue.
“As far as we are concerned, there will be no compromise in our sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the same time, as a responsible nation, we are always willing to talk. Our communication lines are open,” Shringla said.
Calling the situation one of the worst observed in decades, the Foreign Secretary mentioned that we have been engaged, both militarily and diplomatically, with China.
“This is one of the most serious challenges we have faced in many decades. Also, I think if you look at the fact that we have not lost any lives on the border in the last 40 years, we have not seen this magnitude of amassing of forces on the border also in recent years, is something that we have to take stock of,” the Foreign Secretary said.
Meanwhile, hours before the meet, the Defence Minster termed the SCO gathering: “Peaceful, stable and secure region of SCO member states, which is home to over 40 per cent of the global population, demands a climate of trust and cooperation, non-aggression, respect for international rules and norms, sensitivity to each other’s interest and peaceful resolution of differences.”
