New Delhi, June 23: India and China do not need outside help in resolving long-standing issues between the two countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday at a virtual meeting of RIC (Russia-India-China) foreign ministers.
Lavrov’s remark comes amid tension between India and China over clashes in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan region last week that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and 76 injured. An unspecified number of Chinese troops were also killed, including a senior commander, in a brutal fight that lasted for several hours.
“I don’t think India and China need any help from outside. I don’t think they need to be helped, especially when it comes to country issues. They can solve them on their own,” Sergei Lavrov said, adding, “this means recent events”.
“New Delhi and Beijing have shown commitment to a peaceful resolution. They started meetings at the level of defence officers and foreign ministers and neither has made any statement to indicate either will pursue non-diplomatic solutions,” he was quoted by a wire agency.
According to the wire agency, India was initially reluctant to join today’s trilateral meeting but agreed following a request from host nation Russia.
