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India confirms participation in virtual meeting of RIC foreign ministers
Russia on Wednesday had formally announced the virtual meeting of the RIC foreign ministers, quashing doubts about India’s participation in the aftermath of the violent clash with Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
India on Thursday confirmed external affairs minister S Jaishankar will join a virtual meeting of the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping on June 23, a day ahead of Indian and Chinese military contingents participating in the Victory Day parade in Moscow.
Russia had on Wednesday formally announced the virtual meeting of the RIC foreign ministers, quashing doubts about India’s participation in the aftermath of the violent clash with Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
“External affairs minister will be participating in this meeting. The three ministers are expected to discuss the current situation of the global pandemic and the challenges of global security, financial stability and RIC cooperation in that context,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told a weekly media briefing.
Srivastava noted this would “be a trilateral meeting” – an indication that bilateral matters such as the India-China border stand-off would not be up for discussion.
The violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops on June 15 had cast a shadow on the RIC meeting, originally scheduled to be held in March but postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Russia recently took the initiative to organise the virtual meeting this month, as first reported by HT on June 13.
The virtual meeting was originally scheduled for June 22 but was postponed by a day due to a request from the Chinese side, people familiar with developments said.
A day after the RIC meeting, military contingents from India and China will participate in the Victory Day parade in Moscow. Russia marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 each year with a massive military display involving thousands of troops and tanks parading through the Red Square. This year’s event has been delayed by the pandemic.
A 75-member Indian tri-service contingent is set to leave for Russia on Friday. China sent a 105-member contingent of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) honour guard on June 15.
The RIC meeting is expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and regional connectivity projects such as the International North South Transport Corridor involving India, Russia and Iran.
“The existence of the #RIC is an undisputable reality, firmly fixed on the world map. As for the current stage of the trilateral cooperation, there are no indications that it might be frozen,” Russia’s ambassador to India, Nikolay Kudashev, tweeted on Wednesday.
“We welcome all steps aimed at de-escalation at the #LAC, including the conversation between the two FMs, and remain optimistic,” Kudashev said in another tweet, referring to Wednesday’s phone conversation between Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Russia, the chair of RIC for this year, has made concerted efforts to organise the meeting of the foreign ministers. Moscow’s relations with New Delhi and Beijing are currently very good, and Kudashev and deputy chief of mission Roman Babushkin have, in remarks to the Indian media, spoken of the need for easing tensions for regional stability.
