New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow shortly, the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) announced on Thursday evening.
The talks between the two foreign ministers are taking place against the backdrop of a massive spike in border tensions in eastern Ladakh triggered by fresh face-offs between the armies of India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
“This issue will be discussed,” MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said when asked at a media briefing whether the four-month-long border faceoff will be raised by Jaishankar at the talks.
The Indian Army on Tuesday said Chinese troops attempted to close in on an Indian position near the southern bank of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh the previous evening and fired shots in the air, a first such instance of bullets being used along the LAC after a gap of 45 years.
The Army said this in a statement after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army(PLA) late on Monday night alleged that Indian troops crossed the LAC and “outrageously fired” warning shots near the Pangong lake.
Jaishankar and Wang are in Moscow to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.
The focus of the bilateral talks between the two leaders are expected to be on finding a breakthrough to cool down tensions in eastern Ladakh.
A meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Gen.Wei Fenghe on the margins of another SCO meet in Moscow last Friday apparently did not yield any any tangible outcome. PTI

Press Trust of India