India Quashes Chinese Media Claim of Meeting between Rajnath Singh and His Counterpart in Moscow

China's state-run Global Times on Tuesday claimed its Defence Minister Wei Fenghe may meet his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on Wednesday in Russia.

"Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe will attend Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow on Wednesday, and likely hold a meeting with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh over resolving border tensions," the publication quoted sources as saying.

However, Singh's office in Delhi rejected the claims, saying no such meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

The development comes as India and China attempt to de-escalate tensions at the Line of Actual Control following bloody clashes last week in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

Singh, who is on a three-day visit to Russia, will attend a grand military parade in Moscow to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II and hold talks with the top Russian military brass.

A tri-service 75-member Indian military contingent has already reached Moscow to participate in the parade. The Indian team will participate alongside armed forces personnel from at least 11 countries, including China.

Russia on Tuesday ruled out mediating between India and China, 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.

"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," he 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.

This is the first visit abroad by a senior Union minister in four months as foreign travels were restricted in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Singh travelled by an Indian Air Force aircraft, while strictly following all laid precautions against the coronavirus infection, the officials said.