Jaishankar likely to attend SCO meeting in Moscow alongside China amid heightened LAC tension

New Delhi, Sep 01: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar is likely to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) ministerial meeting in Moscow.

The SCO meeting is taking place at a time when two of its member countries, India and China, are locked in a bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe is expected to attend the SCO meeting.

Asked about the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Singh and Wei on the sidelines of the SCO event, sources said there is no such plan.

It will be Singh''s second visit to Moscow since June. He had represented India at the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on June 24 that commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

Russia has also invited External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to attend the SCO foreign ministers' meeting on September 10.

Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh for over three-and-half months.

Indian Army on Monday said the Chinese military carried out "provocative military movements" to "unilaterally" change the status quo on the southern bank of Pangong lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30 but the attempt was thwarted by the Indian troops.

The fresh confrontation has further escalated the tension along the Line of Actual Control.