PTI photo
NEW DELHI: While denying it could mediate the India-China border standoff on its own, Russia laid the groundwork for a meeting between the Indian and Chinese foreign ministers in Moscow on Tuesday, saying the Organization for Cooperation Shanghai could provide a platform to build mutual trust between member states.
Ahead of the SCO foreign ministers meeting in Moscow on September 10, Russia’s deputy chief of mission here, Roman Babushkin, said that Russia will encourage all opportunities and efforts for a dialogue between India and China to resolve their differences. .
Foreign ministers Jaishankar and his counterpart Wang Yi will hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the SCO in what will be their first physical meeting since the news of a new border fight in Ladakh broke in early May. The two will meet at a time when talks for the withdrawal of troops in eastern Ladakh and the de-escalation of LAC are on the brink.
“The SCO charter does not allow any bilateral dispute to get involved, but it provides a comfortable platform to build mutual trust, expand cooperation, find common ground and, finally, create conditions for dialogue between countries. We are witnessing many opportunities outside the SCO for bilateral dialogue and we are pleased to see that the defense ministers of Russia and China met recently and that the foreign ministers will also meet, ”Babushkin said in an interaction with journalists. .
“We would encourage an outcome that provides impetus to the de-escalation and disengagement talks,” he said, adding that Russia was confident that the two sides will find a mutually acceptable solution through the talks.
Significantly, he also expressed the hope that India will find “common ground” with Pakistan in the “consensus framework for the cooperation of the SCO”. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi He will also participate in the SCO meeting.
According to official sources here, there is no bilateral meeting scheduled with Qureshi for now. When asked about the possible arms supply to Pakistan, Babushkin said Russia will remain sensitive to India’s concerns. The meeting on the sidelines of the SCO will give Jaishankar and Wang an opportunity to look again at the border situation.
Their phone conversation in June helped establish general principles for the disengagement, but the situation appears to have changed in recent weeks with Indian troops taking control of strategic peaks on the southern shore of Pangong Tso. According to sources, the Chinese side has not been able to accept the “readjustment” in the deployment of troops that India made on the south bank.
Babushkin, however, ruled out any possibility of Moscow mediating the dispute unless specifically asked by both countries. India has also ruled out mediation by any foreign power. However, India has tried to keep Moscow informed about developments in LAC, mostly because of its close ties with Beijing. Russian Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev was the first foreign envoy to be briefed on the situation in June by the Foreign Secretary. Shringla tough.
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