Russia and China gave divergent views on the Kashmir issue two days after the UN Security Council discussed the current status of the region.
Addressing the Indian media here, Russian envoy Nikolay Kudashev argued that Moscow considers Kashmir to be a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan, but an official of the China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasised the role of multilateral diplomacy in resolving the lingering issue.
“We were not in favour of bringing Kashmir to UN Security Council. It’s a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan,” Ambassador Kudashev said in his interaction with journalists here.
The crucial UN forum on Wednesday discussed the current situation in Kashmir where normal life has remained suspended since India ended the region’s special status on August 5, 2019
The drive to discuss the Valley was mainly boosted by China which worked in coordination with Pakistan to highlight the issue internationally. Under pressure from Beijing, UNSC met twice in the last six months to discuss it.
India urged China on Thursday to “refrain” from similar moves in the future.
The difference between the Russian and Chinese positions is evident from the fact that the Russian ambassador emphasised the ‘bilateral’ nature of the dispute but the Chinese highlighted the role of past UNSC resolutions while including bilateral Indo-Pak treaties in the formula.
Geng Shuang, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Beijing said, China has a ‘consistent’ position on Kashmir. “During this review most Security Council members expressed concern on the current situation, called for restraint and de-escalation,” Mr. Geng said.
