India-China ties not normal, border issues key: Jaishankar post talks with Wang
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
“So long there are very large deployments, border situation is not normal. We still have ongoing friction areas, where some progress has been made in resolving some friction areas, including Pangong Tso. Our discussion today was how to take this forward. There have been 15 rounds of talks,” he told the media after the conclusion of his talks.When he was asked where the India-China ties lie at this juncture, he responded, “If you ask me if our relationship today is normal, then my answer is 'no it is not normal' (because of the Chinese deployments). Our effort today is to sort out the issue in its entirety." India also raised the issue of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s references to Kashmir at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Islamabad.The Indian minister further said that Afghanistan and Ukraine issues were also discussed at length during the talks.“So far as Afghanistan is concerned, India's policy is guided by the UN Security Council Resolution 2593. On Ukraine, we discussed our respective approaches & perspective but agreed that diplomacy and dialogue must be the priority,” he said. Earlier in the day, Wang Yi met Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who asserted that an "early and complete disengagement of troops" at points of friction along the border was key to restoring normal ties between the two countries.Doval also called for removing "impediments" to allow bilateral ties to "take the natural course" and stressed that "actions should not violate the spirit of equal and mutual security".