The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday, 29 May, rejected US President Donald Trump's mediation offer to end the border tensions with India, PTI reported.
"China and India are capable of properly resolving the issues through dialogue and consultation," a Chinese ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying.
On Wednesday, Trump had taken to Twitter, saying the US is "ready, willing and able to mediate or arbitrate their now raging border dispute."
No Recent Contact Between PM & Trump: Sources on US Prez’s Claim
Meanwhile, hours after Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "not in a good mood about what is going on with China", government sources cited by PTI on Friday said there has been no recent contact between Modi and Trump.
"The last conversation between Modi and Trump was on 4 April on the issue of hydroxycholoroquine. Yesterday, MEA had also made it clear that we're directly in touch with China through established mechanisms and diplomatic contacts," the clarification by government sources said, coming after the US president claimed he spoke to Modi on the India-China standoff in Ladakh.
Interacting with the media at the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday, Trump termed the recent India-China tensions a "big conflict".
"I like your prime minister a lot. He is a great gentleman... Have a big conflict... India and China. Two countries with 1.4 billion people (each). Two countries with very powerful militaries. India is not happy and probably China is not happy," he was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
"I can tell you, I did speak to Prime Minister Modi. He is not in a good mood about what is going on with China," Trump went on to say.
He once again said on Thursday that he would be willing to mediate the border dispute between India and China if the two sides "thought it would help".
‘Engaged With Chinese Side to Peacefully Resolve It’: India
India on Thursday had responded to Trump's offer, saying that engagements between the two nations over the matter were underway. "We are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve it," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava was quoted as saying.
The tensions between Indian and Chinese forces have been high ever since personnel from the two sides clashed along the northern bank of the Pangong Tso in Ladakh on 5 May. Four days later, a face-off between the two sides was witnessed near Naku La Pass in Sikkim.
This is the first major stand-off between India and China after the Doklam episode in 2017 when Indian and Chinese forces saw a major face-off over the construction of a road by China.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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