Ahead of the talks between External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava stated that India is committed to resolving border situation with China through peaceful negotiations.
Addressing a press briefing, Srivastava highlighted that India and China are in touch via diplomatic, military channels to resolve the situation along the Line of Control (LAC), adding that "this was the consensus when defence ministers met".
The MEA spokesperson said, "India-China are in touch via diplomatic, military channels to resolve the situation, this was the consensus when defence ministers met. EAM will meet Chinese foreign minister shortly where he'll discuss it. India committed to resolving the border situation via peaceful negotiations."
Speaking on Jaishankar's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Srivastava added, "There was an excellent discussion on bilateral matters, regional developments and international issues of concern." S Jaishankar met Lavrov and Wang Yi earlier on Thursday in Moscow on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet.
Srivastava spoke about the telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan PM Shinzo Abe calling it "a very warm conversation between the two leaders". He added that they recalled memories of early meetings in Varanasi, Sabarmati, Kobe, Kyoto and PM Modi's visit to PM Abe's ancestral home in Yamanashi.
"PM Modi expressed gratitude to Japanese PM for his personal leadership and commitment to enhance strategic partnership with Japan which covers several domains. Also discussed the status of ongoing cooperation and reviewed various projects including Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway project," he said.
He added, "India-Japan agreement on reciprocal provision of supplies & services between Indian armed forces & self-defence forces of Japan also known as ACSA agreement was signed yesterday between Defence Secretary & Japenese Ambassador."
"This agreement is expected to further enhance bilateral defence cooperation as well as peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region," added Srivastava.
