Rajnath Singh meets Chinese counterpart in Moscow amid Ladakh standoff

Singh and Wei are in Moscow to attend a meeting of the defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which took place earlier in the day

Amid heightened border tension in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday held talks in Moscow with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and Indian Ambassador to Russia D B Venkatesh Varma are part of the Indian delegation at the talks that began at around 9:30 PM (IST) at a prominent hotel in the Russian capital.

It is the first highest level face-to-face meeting between the two sides after the border row escalated in eastern Ladakh in early May. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has previously held telephonic talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the border