NEW DELHI: Briefing reporters on PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting, which took place on Wednesday, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said, “They (Modi and Xi) agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts for expeditious disengagement and deescalation (along the LAC)."
“He (Modi) underlined that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for normalisation of the relationship,’’ he added.
Kwatra did not respond to a question on whether Xi indicated to Modi that he was going to travel to India for the meeting. It’s also not clear yet which side proposed the conversation that took place amid renewed efforts to take forward the disengagement process.
In the run-up to the summit, India and China held the 19th round of military talks to end the stand-off in eastern Ladakh that started in April 2020. The talks did not lead to a breakthrough but the positively worded joint statement, calling the talks constructive, had raised hopes of a meeting between the two leaders.
On Thursday, Modi and Xi were also seen shaking hands and exchanging a few words while taking their respective seats at a media event where the Brics expansion was announced. Xi was also seen clapping when Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated Modi for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon.
