China said on Friday that it had reached a “five-point consensus” with India regarding the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Moscow but offered no further details.

A statement issued by China’s foreign ministry also cited foreign minister Wang Yi, who held a nearly two-hour meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on the margins of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet on Thursday evening, as saying that differences between the two sides should be put “in a proper context vis-a-vis bilateral relations”.

“The two sides reached a five-point consensus regarding the current situation after a full, in-depth discussion,” the statement said, without giving details.

The statement further said the Chinese side is willing to “support enhanced dialogue between the frontier troops on both sides to resolve specific issues”, and that it will “stay in touch with the Indian side through diplomatic and military channels and be committed to restoring peace and tranquillity in the border areas”.

The Indian side is prepared to work with China to ease tensions through dialogue and negotiation and to restore and maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, the statement said.

There was no official word on the meeting from India’s external affairs ministry.

Jaishankar and Wang met for the crucial talks in Moscow against the backdrop of a spike in tensions along the LAC after both countries amassed more troops in the Ladakh sector.

The two leaders were in the same room twice earlier in the day – first for a meeting of foreign ministers of the SCO and then for a luncheon meeting of the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping – before they began their bilateral talks a little after 8 pm Indian time.

Wang was quoted by the Chinese statement as saying that bilateral relations have “once again come to a crossroads”, but as long as the two sides “keep moving the relationship in the right direction, there will be no difficulty or challenge that can’t be overcome”.

He also outlined China’s “stern position” on the situation in the border areas, “emphasizing that the imperative is to immediately stop provocations such as firing and other dangerous actions that violate the commitments made by the two sides”. Wang said it is also “important to move back all personnel and equipment that have trespassed” and the “frontier troops must quickly disengage so that the situation may de-escalate”.

However, New Delhi has rejected all assertions by Beijing that Indian troops had crossed the LAC and blamed the latest face-offs during August 29-30 and on September 7 on provocative military actions by Chinese forces.

There have been face-offs between the two sides on the south bank of Pangong Lake after the provocative Chinese movements to change the status quo during August 29-30. India also said that during the latest face-off on September 7, Chinese soldiers fired in the air after they were dissuaded from closing in on an Indian forward position – the first time guns were used on the LAC since 1975.

Since then, both sides have further strengthened their military presence in the region by moving in additional troops, tanks and other weaponry. The Chinese side, however, has been rattled by India’s proactive move of positioning its troops on several strategic heights to prevent further land grabs on the south bank of Pangong Lake.

The Chinese statement quoted Wang as saying that “it is normal for China and India to have differences as two neighbouring major countries”, though it is important to “put these differences in a proper context vis-a-vis bilateral relations”.

The two sides should take guidance from the strategic consensus between Chinese and Indian leaders that the two countries are not “competitive rivals or each other’s threats, but cooperation partners and each other’s developmental opportunities”, Wang said.

As two large developing countries, China and India need “cooperation, not confrontation; and mutual trust, not suspicion”, he said. “Whenever the situation gets difficult, it is all the more important to ensure the stability of the overall relationship and preserve mutual trust,” he added.

The Chinese statement further quoted Jaishankar as saying that the Indian side doesn’t want tensions to escalate in the border areas. “India’s policy toward China has not changed. The Indian side believes that China’s policy toward India has not changed either,” the statement said.

“The Indian side does not consider the development of India-China relations to be dependent on the settlement of the boundary question and India does not want to go backwards. The truth is India-China relations have made steady progress over the years. The Chinese and Indian leaders have met several times and reached a series of important consensus on the development of bilateral relations,” it further said.

The Indian side has repeatedly said in recent weeks that it is committed to the resolution of the border standoff through peaceful negotiations, though it is also opposed to any unilateral efforts to alter the status quo along the LAC.