India-China ties are gradually moving in a positive direction, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks with several leaders on the sidelines of the upcoming BRICS Summit in New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.
Addressing a bi-weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Prime Minister would hold talks with “numerous leaders” during the BRICS Summit, while details of the participating leaders and the timing of individual meetings would be shared separately.
“Our Prime Minister will hold bilateral talks with numerous leaders during the BRICS summit. Detailed information regarding the specific leaders and the timing of these meetings will be provided to you. As for the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine–this is one of the many issues that will come up during the bilateral discussions,” Jaiswal said.
India will host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, with discussions expected to cover a range of global and regional issues.
On India-China relations, Jaiswal confirmed that the two countries recently held their first senior military commander-level flag meeting in the eastern sector along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The meeting was held at Wacha on the Indian side in Arunachal Pradesh on September 6 and at Damai on the Chinese side on September 7.
He said the meeting followed understandings reached between the Special Representatives of India and China in August 2025 and August 2026, as well as subsequent discussions under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC).
“India-China ties are gradually moving in a positive direction,” Jaiswal said. “This gradual normalisation of ties, people-to-people ties are very important. And when we talk of people-to-people ties or normalisation of people ties, we also talk about visa issues that also help in promoting people-to-people ties.”
The latest military-level engagement comes amid efforts by the two sides to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LAC and gradually normalise bilateral relations.
On August 25, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who is also India’s Special Representative on the India-China Boundary Question, held the 25th round of Special Representatives talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
The two sides discussed the boundary question and bilateral relations and noted progress in implementing the consensus reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Kazan in October 2024 and Tianjin in August 2025.
The MEA has said that people-to-people and cross-border exchanges have also been steadily resuming, including the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra and border trade through three designated trading passes.
Earlier, at the 36th meeting of the WMCC held in New Delhi on August 6, India and China reviewed the situation along the LAC and discussed boundary delimitation, border management, mechanism-building and trans-border cooperation.
The two sides agreed to continue using established diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC, local commander-level meetings and other mechanisms, to resolve outstanding issues and prevent misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC.
India ready to support efforts to end Russia-Ukraine conflict
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the MEA reiterated India’s longstanding position that the war cannot be resolved on the battlefield and that dialogue and diplomacy remain the way forward.
Jaiswal said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s recent visit to Poland and Ukraine focused on exploring prospects for dialogue and diplomacy. He also reiterated India’s readiness to contribute to efforts aimed at ending the conflict.
“External Affairs Minister visited Ukraine and Poland recently. In both these countries, during his conversations, he noted that India has consistently maintained that this is not an era of war and solution will not emerge from the battlefield.”
“He also underlined Prime Minister Modi’s comments that endless war must now give way to the end of war. Noting that it is for the parties involved to find a way, he further added that if India can be of any help in any manner to bring the war to an end, it was ready to do so. India is in touch with both the Ukrainian and Russian sides and is trying to see if there are ideas and suggestions that can contribute to the cessation of the conflict,” Jaiswal said.
Jaishankar visited Kyiv on September 3, where he met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and called on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During his visit to Poland, he also said India remained in continuous contact with both Moscow and Kyiv while exploring possible ideas that could contribute to de-escalation and eventually cessation of the conflict.
Jaiswal also said that around two dozen Indian nationals continue to serve in the Russian Army and that India has taken up the matter with Moscow.
“We have around two dozen people who still continue to be in the Russian Army, and we have taken up this matter with the Russian government. We hope to have them released at the earliest,” he said.
The MEA said India would continue engaging with both Russia and Ukraine and exploring ways in which it could contribute to efforts aimed at bringing the conflict to an end.
(With agency inputs)
