Reject China-Pak's unwarranted references to J&K: MEA; announces EAM's Russia visit

The Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

New Delhi: India on Thursday rejected references to Jammu and Kashmir in a China-Pakistan joint statement during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to Beijing. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the references were "unwarranted" and India consistently rejected such statements.

The Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India, he said. On China-Pakistan-Economic Corridor (CPEC), Bagchi said India consistently conveyed "protests and concerns" to China and Pakistan as it includes projects in the "sovereign territory" of India.

"We resolutely reject any attempts to utilise such projects to change the status quo in that area," Bagchi said. The joint statement was issued after talks between Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also announced External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's two-day visit to Russia beginning November 7 during which he will hold wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"Our position on Ukraine- Russia conflict has always been clear, we want dialogue to focus on bilateral, regional and global issues & that is what, I think, our external Affairs minister will be discussing," Bagchi said.

During visit to Moscow, Jaishankar will hold talks with Lavrov focusing on bilateral, regional and international issues, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing. The visit is taking place amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

In the last few months, India has increased the import of discounted crude oil from Russia notwithstanding increasing disquiet over it by several Western powers. Jaishankar and Lavrov have already met four times after the Ukraine conflict began in February.

The Russian foreign minister visited India in April during which he held extensive talks with Jaishankar and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India in December last year to attend the India-Russia annual summit.