Rajnath Singh holds talks with Chinese counterpart in Moscow

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Rajnath Singh in Moscow (Image tweeted by @rajnathsingh)
Rajnath Singh in Moscow (Image tweeted by @rajnathsingh)

New Delhi : India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday held talks with his Chinese counterpart in Moscow where both the leaders are present to attend a three-day event. This was the first high-level meeting between India and China since the stand-off took place at the LAC.

Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghi had asked India to hold meeting on the sidelines of SCO in Russia's capital. In a message before the meeting, Rajnath Singh said peace and security in the region demands a climate of trust, non-aggression, peaceful resolution of differences and respect for international rules.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and Indian Ambassador to Russia D B Venkatesh Varma were part of the Indian delegation at the talks that began at around 9:30 pm Indian time at a prominent hotel in Moscow.

The meeting lasted for around two and a half hours.

"Peaceful stable and secure region of SCO member states, which is home to over 40 per cent of the global population, demands a climate of trust and cooperation, non-aggression, respect for international rules and norms, sensitivity to each other's interest and peaceful resolution of differences," Rajnath Singh said at the ministerial meet of the SCO, in the presence of the Chinese Defence Minister.

The talks come couple of days after fresh face-off has been reported at the LAC.

Tension flared up again after Chinese troops tried to occupy territory in the south bank of Pangong Lake last Saturday and again on Monday. Indian forces were prepared and prevented these attempts to "unilaterally alter the status quo" at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the government said.