Modi-Xi Meeting In Kazan Very Positive Development In India-China Ties, Says Russian Envoy

Russian envoy to India said that Russia has always desired that India and China maintain "stable and good relations" for the progress of the world.

New Delhi:Russia views the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan as a "very positive development" in bilateral ties between India and China, Russian envoy to India Denis Alipov said on Monday.

He stressed that Russia has always desired that India and China maintain "stable and good relations" as it is indispensable for the progress of the world, even as he rejected any conjecture saying, "We have not played any role in it (Modi-Xi meeting), but we are happy that it took place in Kazan".

Such high-level interactions will facilitate and open new ways to a closer dialogue, Alipov said during an interaction with reporters at the Russian Embassy here. He also countered the remarks made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with a leading Indian daily that the BRICS Summit was a big "failure".

The envoy said the Summit in Kazan was a "total success" and accused Zelenskyy of being "delusional" and "absolutely wrong" in his assessment of the high-profile meeting that was attended by Modi and other world leaders. He asserted that the grouping is "not an exclusive but an inclusive platform" and that "BRICS is not anti-West but non-West".

Hosted by Russia, the Summit was being seen as an attempt by non-Western powers to project their clout amid the conflict in Ukraine and the escalating situation in West Asia. Meanwhile, Russian sources said there is "no common ground" for negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in the context of the prolonged conflict.

Alipov, in response to queries from reporters on the Modi-Xi meeting, said, "We have welcomed, and are happy that the first meeting between the leaders of India and China took place in Kazan, after five years, if not mistaken. We believe this as a very positive development in bilateral relations between India and China."

On October 23, Prime Minister Modi and the Chinese president endorsed the agreement on patrolling and disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

They had also issued a direction to revive various bilateral dialogue mechanisms, signalling attempts to normalise ties that were hit by a deadly military clash along the LAC in 2020 in eastern Ladakh.

In the nearly 50-minute meeting held on the sidelines of the summit in Kazan, Modi underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquillity in the border areas. He reiterated that mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity should remain the basis of the relations.

In their first structured talks in nearly five years, Modi and Xi also instructed the revival of the stalled Special Representatives' dialogue mechanism on the boundary question at an early date, holding that it can play a critical role in the maintenance of peace and tranquillity along the frontier.

Alipov, in reference to the bilateral meeting, said the border issue was discussed as also matters related to bilateral cooperation.

"We, again, as far as I know, have not played any role in organising that meeting, but we have been very happy about it that it took place in Kazan.

"For us, as I represent Russia, has always been important and desirable that India and China maintain stable and good relations between themselves, maintain a dialogue... that would only be favourable, indispensable for the security situation in the Eurasian space and for the world at large," he said.

"We wholeheartedly welcome the meeting that took place, and we hope that the improvement on the border as we see, and such high-level interactions like the one that took place in Kazan will facilitate and open new ways to a closer dialogue, to a trusted dialogue between the two countries and to the eventually the resolution of the contentious issues, if not a complete resolution, but at least... a way forward," he said.

And it would be "beneficial to all the countries on the Eurasian continent, big or small, and would be beneficial to the security situation, to the common voice, and all the various issues that need to be resolved", the envoy added.

"Prime Minister Modi went on record saying... and, we have also expressed similar views," he said. He said the prosperity and progress on the Eurasian continent can only be possible with a good relationship between India and China.

"I am speaking about the Eurasian continent because it's not only about Russia, not only India, not only China separately, we all live on one big continent, the biggest one in the world. And, the prosperity and the progress on this continent that would definitely have a global dimension and can only be possible with a good relationship between India and China," he said.

Russia is the largest country on the continent, but India and China are currently the main economic drivers on the continent, he said. "And, the good relationship between them is indispensable, for the progress of the world at large and for the Eurasian continent, in particular. We have always stood for better trust between the two countries, and have always endorsed the trust between the two countries.

"We have never participated by advice or in any other way in bilateral negotiations between India and China... have never interfered in contentious issues between India and China, and of course the border row is one of them.

"But, we have always stood and openly spoken about the necessity and need for better relations, for a closer relationship between the two majors on this continent," he said.