Russia has no plans to mediate between India-China talks over standoff in Ladakh: Russian envoy

Russia has no plans to mediate between India and China over the border issue in Ladakh, said Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, adding that if both the countries expressed a wish for an intermediary then Russia can consider it.

Moscow: Russia has no plans to mediate between India and China over the border issue in Ladakh, said newly appointed Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, adding that if both the countries expressed a wish for an intermediary then Russia can consider it. India and China have been engaged in holding talks on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Eastern Ladakh area to resolve the standoff. So far, 14 rounds of talks have been held between India and China. The talks led to some disengagement of troops from several friction points along the LAC, but not all of them.

"No. We have no such plans [to be an intermediary]. But if such a wish is expressed on both sides, then, of course, we will consider it most carefully. We have no mediation plans for a simple reason: both sides view the territorial dispute between them as a purely bilateral matter," Alipov said in an interview with Sputnik, the Russian News Agency. Moscow respects this position and is not going to interfere, the diplomat said, expressing hope that the territorial problem will be resolved as soon as possible by purely diplomatic means.

India and China have been engaged in a standoff since April-May 2020 over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot springs, and Kongrung Nala. After the conclusion of 14 rounds of military talks, India and China had agreed to hold the commander-level meeting at the earliest on the LAC in the Western sector to resolve the standoff between the two nuclear nations.

ANI