Addressing the weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said both sides should focus on easing tensions in the friction areas by refraining from any actions that may lead to an escalation in the situation.

“The Chinese side should sincerely work with the Indian side for complete disengagement at the earliest from all friction areas including Pangong Lake as well as de-escalation in border areas in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols on the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas. We hope the Chinese side will strictly respect and observe the line of actual control and not make further attempts to unilaterally change status quo,” he said.

Srivastava said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart in Moscow on September 10.

He said the two Foreign Ministers reached an agreement which outlines the way forward and this meeting followed the meeting that the two Defence Ministers had in Moscow on September 4.

“There was consensus between the ministers of the two sides, during both the meetings, that there should be quick and complete disengagement of troops from all friction areas along the LAC. Both sides should, therefore, focus on easing tensions in the friction areas by refraining from any actions that may lead to an escalation in the situation. This requires strict adherence to the bilateral agreements and protocols and not making unilateral attempts to change the status quo,” Srivastava said.

He also referred to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s remarks in the two Houses of Parliament and said the minister had stated that India is committed to peaceful dialogue with the Chinese side, including through diplomatic and military channels.

Rajnath Singh on Thursday said in the Rajya Sabha Sabha that conduct of the country’s armed forces throughout India-China border clashes showed that they maintained ‘sayyam’ (restraint) and displayed ‘shaurya’ (bravery) in face of provocative actions by the Chinese army.

The two countries have been engaged in a stand-off since April-May and the Chinese have not vacated areas in the Finger area and other friction points in the eastern Ladakh area.

Multiple rounds of talks have failed to yield any significant result in defusing border tensions.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.