New Delhi: India and China are expected to hold more talks in the coming days to kickstart a stalled plan to disengage their troops and de-escalate tensions between the two countries that have been simmering since May.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava told reporters in New Delhi at a weekly foreign office briefing that the two countries have discussed a roadmap to reduce tensions.

“I must add that translating these principles on the ground is a complex process that requires re-deployment of troops by each side towards their regular posts on their respective sides of the LAC (Line of Actual Control)," he said.

“It is natural that this can be done only through mutually agreed reciprocal actions," Srivastava said adding that achieving disengagement at the earliest required “agreed actions by both sides."

The reference was to China staying put in some areas of intrusions in Ladakh – at the heights of Finger 4 – one of eight mountain spurs – on the backs of the Pangong Tso lake. Prior to May this year, China used to patrol up to Finger 4 but control areas upto Finger 8. India used to hold Finger 4 and patrol upto Finger 8. After the talks on disengagement, India had moved back towards Finger 3 but China has not complied with the terms of the agreement and remains ensconced at the upper reaches of Finger 4. Similarly at Patrolling Point 17, China has yet to pull back its troops.

“We therefore expect the Chinese side to sincerely work with us towards the objective of complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas as agreed by the Special Representatives," he said referring to a conversation between India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on 5 July.

“This is also necessary and essential in the context of overall development of our bilateral relationship. As External Affairs Minister ( S. Jaishankar) had noted in a recent interview ‘the state of the border and the future of our ties, cannot be separated," Srivastava said.

Recalling that both sides have had talks at the level of military commanders and diplomats, Srivastava added that “further meetings are likely to happen in the near future."

Meanwhile in Beijing, Indian ambassador Vikram Misri on Friday met a senior member of China’s Central Military Commission and discussed India’s position on the current stand-off.

“Ambassador @VikramMisri today met Major General Ci Guowei, Director of the Office of International Military Cooperation of the Central Military Commission and briefed him on India’s stance vis-à-vis the situation on the borders in eastern Ladakh UT," said a Twitter post by the Indian embassy in Beijing.

This is the second meeting of Misri with senior officials in the Chinese establishment. On Wednesday, he had met Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of the CPC Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission and discussed the tensions between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control border.

Tensions were exacerbated by the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops in a violent clash in Galwan on 15 June. These were the first casualties in 45 years.

India has said that peace and tranquility on the border is the “basis of our bilateral relationship." New Delhi has also been insisting that Chinese troops withdraw to positions they held in April.

But Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Wednesday reiterated that the onus for the Galwan valley incident was “not on China."

In a Chinese embassy magazine “China-India review" published in New Delhi, Sun has written, “If one analyses this incident carefully, it’s quite clear that the onus is not on China. The Indian side crossed the LAC for provocation and attacked the Chinese border troops. The Indian forces seriously violated agreements on border issues between the two countries and severely violated basic norms governing international relations."

“We urge the Indian side to conduct a thorough investigation, hold the violators accountable, strictly discipline the frontline troops, and immediately stop all provocative acts to ensure such incidents will not occur again," Sun stated.