Modi, Xi meet not ruled out in Russia

With PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled to share a stage during the BRICS Summit (October 22-23) at Kazan, Russia, a possible bilateral between the two is “not being ruled” out.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said PM Modi has planned bilateral meetings with BRICS member leaders.

Both leaders have had a brief interaction at least twice in the past two years — on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022, and then at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2023. On both occasions, they had ‘agreed to step up efforts to resolve the military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

However, the last actual movement on ground was in September 2022, when troops of either side “dis-engaged” from Patrolling point 15 along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

The Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army of China have been locked in a military stand-off since April 2020. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has, in the past few months, while speaking at international forums, hammered the point on how “good relations” with China hinged upon Beijing respecting the LAC. He also described the India-China relationship as “significantly disturbed”.

NSA Ajit Doval, during his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Russia in September, had reiterated how peace and tranquillity in borders areas and respect for LAC are essential for normalcy in bilateral relations. Sources said, so far, there are no directions to the Indian troops on ground to pull back from any spot.