NEW DELHI: India and China have arrived at a patrolling agreement along the line of actual control (LAC) as a result of which there has been disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in this area in 2020 (when the clashes happened in Galwan).Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri indicated that the agreement will lead to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in 2020.As a result of this thaw there is a strong likelihood of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi having a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the upcoming 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, it is learnt.PM Modi will also have bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian.”Over the last several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums. As a result of these discussions, an agreement has been made for patrolling arrangements along the LAC leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020. We will be taking the next steps on this,” said Misri on Monday, ahead of PM Modi leaving for Kazan.It is understood that the agreement pertains to patrolling in Depsang and Demchok areas.It is not immediately clear whether the agreement facilitates the restoration of patrolling rights that were in place prior to the standoff in May 2020.India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.In all negotiations since the standoff began, India has been pressing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas.Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said roughly 75 per cent of the “disengagement problems” with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier.”Now those negotiations are going on. We made some progress. I would say roughly you can say about 75 per cent of the disengagement problems are sorted out,” he said at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.”We still have some things to do,” he said.
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