Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who currently are attending the 15th BRICS Suumit in South Africa, agreed on Thursday to work for "expeditious de-escalation" along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where tensions have been soaring since the violent face-off in May 2020 in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley.
The two leaders discussed the issues during a conversation on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Thursday.
The prime minister underlined that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for normalisation of India-China relations, he said at a media briefing.
In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and deescalation, the foreign secretary added.
Kwatra said Modi had conversations with BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the summit of the grouping in Johannesburg.
Earlier today, fuelling the brewing speculations on one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, the two leaders on Thursday were seen walking side by side and engaging in a brief conversation.
As per media reports, the interaction between PM Modi and Xi Jinping was captured shortly after the five-nation BRICS grouping unanimously agreed to expand its membership and invited six other nations to join the bloc.
The ties between India and China came under severe strain following the eastern Ladakh border standoff that began in May, 2020.
