MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/. Russia hopes that India and China will find mutually acceptable political and diplomatic ways to settle the border standoff near the Ladakh union territory, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Indian newspaper Hindustan Times.

"We expect both states as responsible members of the international community to find mutually acceptable political and diplomatic ways to remove existing differences at the earliest," Lavrov said.

According to the foreign minister, Moscow is closely watching the process of normalization at the Line of Actual Control, functioning as the India-China border. Lavrov noted that Russia welcomed the agreements reached after the telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of India and China on February 25, 2021, aimed at ironing out the situation.

"We highly appreciate the constructive approach demonstrated by both sides. We pay due respect to the intensions of New Delhi and Beijing to act independently and within the frameworks of established multilayer bilateral dialogue mechanisms, without interference from outside," Lavrov stated.

The situation on the Indian-Chinese border near the union territory of Ladakh escalated after the clashes between 250 Chinese and Indian troops in early May 2020. Early on June 16, new skirmishes occurred between Indian and Chinese servicemen near the Galwan river, resulting in deaths. After that India and China held a series of talks at the military and diplomatic levels. On February 10, 2021 the sides started mutually withdrawing troops from Pangong Lake.