‘India, China don’t need any help to resolve disputes’: Russia's foreign minister rules out mediating between countries over Ladakh stand-off

Moscow: Russia on Tuesday ruled out mediating between India and China following the violent clashes in the Galwan Valley, saying the two nations do not need any kind of assistance to resolve their disputes. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks came after a virtual conference of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also attended the conference. The conference was held amid escalating tension between India and China following the violent clashes in Galwan Valley on 15 June that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead, significantly escalating the already volatile situation in the region. “I do not think that India and China need any help, any kind of assistance specifically aimed at helping them to resolve disputes,” Lavrov said. “As soon as the border incidents took place, meetings were held and contact was established between the military command on the ground and the foreign ministers,” Sputnik News quoted Lavrov as saying. “As I understand, these contacts are ongoing, and neither party has made any statement indicating a lack of willingness to negotiate based on generally acceptable approaches. We naturally expect it to continue that way,” Lavrov said. India and China have rejected any role for other parties in finding a peaceful resolution to their boundary issue. Russia has maintained close ties with both China and India. Russia last week expressed concern over the clashes but hoped that both of its close allies can resolve the conflict themselves. Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh is currently in Moscow to attend Wednesday’s parade on Red Square marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in World War II.