WILL NOT MEDIATE INTO INDIA-CHINA DISPUTE: RUSSIA

Russia on Tuesday said it would not mediate in the SinoIndian border dispute and that both Asian countries were capable of bilaterally handling the issue peacefully.

Interacting with reporters through video conference after a trilateral meeting of the Russia-India-China (RIC) at the foreign ministerial level, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov however hoped both Asian neighbours would remain committed to the peaceful resolution of the issue.

The comments come a week after the deadly border clash between Indian and Chinese troops at the Galwan valley in the Ladakh sector in which both sides suffered casualties.

Russia maintains close ties with both India and China and its views are therefore seen as extremely important.

Moscow is also an important supplier of cutting-edge defence platforms to India and has time-tested ties with New Delhi that go back decades as the erstwhile Soviet Union.

Earlier, speaking in the “virtual” presence of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a Special Russia-India-China trilateral meet video-conference, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in a veiled dig at China, said “leading voices” of the world must “respect international law and recognise the legitimate interests of partners”, even as he reminded Beijing of the contributions of the medical mission of Indian doctor Dwarakanath Kotnis to war-ravaged China in the 1930s.