Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meets Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Moscow

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Moscow on Friday. Details of the meeting, however, were not known.

According to a defence source, Mr. Singh and Mr. Wei met in Moscow at 9.30 p.m IST. The Chinese side sought the meeting between Mr. Singh and their Minister on Thursday, a second source informed.

“Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh meeting the Chinese Defence Minister, General Fenghe in Moscow,” Office of Defence Minister said in a tweet.

Also Read: Fresh clashes between Indian Army & Chinese PLA in Eastern Ladakh

“Peaceful stable and secure region of SCO member states – which is home to over 40% of global population, demands a climate of trust and cooperation, non-aggression, respect for international rules and norms, sensitivity to each other’s interest and peaceful resolution of differences,” Singh said while addressing the combined meeting of defence ministers of SCO, Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states.

Rajnath Singh also talked about the threat of terrorism and extremism and pitched for having the institutional capacity to deal with the challenges.

At least two rounds of Brigade-Commander level talks have taken place ever since China tried to unilaterally change the status quo. Singh is on a three-day visit to Russia to attend the combined meeting of Defence Ministers of SCO.
India and China are engaged in a standoff since April-May over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including Finger area, Galwan valley, Hot springs and Kongrung Nala.
The situation worsened after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan valley in June.

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