Never told ministers there will be no withdrawal of troops from Doklam: MEA

Amid Sikkim standoff, China has been demanding that India withdraws its troops from Doklam for any dialogue between the two sides.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said it has not told senior ministers that there would be “no withdrawal” of Indian troops from Doklam, where Indian and Chinese troops are in a stand-off.

Reports of MEA telling senior ministers that there would be no withdrawal of Indian troops from Doklam are false. (Ashok Nath Dey/HT File Photo)

“Some sections of media have reported that MEA has told senior ministers today that there would be no withdrawal of Indian troops from Doklam. Such false reports are without any basis.” MEA sources said.

The clarification came in the context of top ministers meeting in the morning ahead of a briefing to be given to opposition leaders on the Doklam stand-off and the Kashmir situation in the evening.

The brief statement triggered a number of questions whether India was preparing for withdrawing its troops from Doklam in the Sikkim sector, but there were no answers from the MEA.

China has been demanding that India must withdraw troops from Doklam for any dialogue between the two sides.