Defence Minister Rajnath Singh leaves for Iran after 4-day Russia visit

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has left for Tehran after four-day visit in Moscow. There he will meet his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Amir Hatami.

“Leaving Moscow for Tehran. I shall be meeting the Defence Minister of Iran, Brigadier General Amir Hatami,” Rajnath Singh tweeted.

Singh met his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on Saturday and deliberated on ways to give greater thrust to defence cooperation between India and the Central Asian countries.

Leaving Moscow for Tehran. I shall be meeting the Defence Minister of Iran, Brigadier General Amir Hatami.

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 5, 2020

Singh had reached Moscow on Wednesday to attend a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers which took place on Friday.

On Friday, Singh had a meeting with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe during which the two sides discussed military standoff along the Line of Actual Control.

During the talks, Singh emphasised that the actions of the Chinese troops including amassing of a large number of troops, their aggressive behaviour and attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo were in violation of the bilateral agreements and not in keeping with the understandings reached between the Special Representatives of two sides.

He said while the Indian troops had always taken a very responsible approach towards border management but there should also be no doubt about the determination to protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

During the visit, Rajanath Singh also met his Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu in Moscow. The two leaders discussed strengthening defence and strategic cooperation between both the two countries.