Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla arrives in Moscow for a 2-day visit, stated that the disengagement plan is a ‘step in the right direction’ and is expected to reach a conclusion within 2-3 days. Talking about the ongoing border tensions between India and China, he said that the relationship between the two Asian giants is definitely dependent on the normal situation at the border.
Addressing the conference hosted by the Diplomatic Academy of Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr.Shringla also underlined that the process of disengagement of Indian and Chinese soldiers in eastern Ladakh is expected to reach a conclusion within the next 2-3 days. “As I told our friends in China, we cannot have a normal bilateral relationship if there is no peace and tranquility in our border areas. The relationship is definitely dependent on the normal situation at the border,” Mr. Shringla added. The Indian and Chinese militaries are locked in a sharp deadlock in eastern Ladakh since May last year.
“In the last few days we (India and China) have started what is called a disengagement plan. We have come to some kind of understanding with China after nine months of negotiations on a plan of disengagement that would involve frontline troops, that were in close proximity to each other, I would say, going to their permanent bases and thereby preventing any chance of any mishap or miscalculation of troops being in close proximity to each other,” Mr Shringla stated, at a meeting in Moscow.
