India and China's border tensions continue to escalate and the entire world is closely monitoring the developments. Russia, which is a close ally of both India and China, has sided with India amidst the fierce Sino-Indian standoff at Line of Actual Control. In fact, Moscow has assured that it stands by India in thick and thin.
Even though Russia has publicly supported India, it is rooting for the de-escalation of LAC tensions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Russian ambassador to India Nikolay R. Kudashev and Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin echoed their views on hoping for a resolve between the two Asian countries.
"We hope that the tensions will soon be de-escalated, and the sides would further maintain a constructive dialogue also keeping in mind the potential of cooperation. Russia believes it is vital for the region," Babushkin told WION in a statement. Similarly, Lavrov and Kudashev welcomed the military reps from both countries discussing measures to resolve the issues.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov also expressed concern over the Indo-China standoff and wished for the two countries to resolve the issues and restore stability in the conflict region.
"Certainly, we are watching with great attention what is happening on the Chinese-Indian border. We believe that this is a very alarming report. But we consider that the two countries are capable of taking necessary steps to prevent such situations in the future and to ensure that there is predictability and stability in the region and that this is a safe region for nations, first of all, China and India," Peskov said.
RIC FM meet
The reactions from Kremlin ministry come just days ahead RIC (Russia-India-China) Foreign Ministers meet, which is scheduled to be held via video conference on June 23. The ministers will exchange views on trends in global politics, economy, and other areas following the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Moscow has clearly denied discussing bilateral matters during the RIC meeting. "The RIC agenda does not involve discussing issues that relate to bilateral relations of a country with another member of this format," Lavrov signaled.
Indian FM hasn't responded to this yet.
