Russia had no doubt on India's position on J&K: Moscow's envoy to New Delhi Nikolay Kudashev

Moscow's envoy to New Delhi, Nikolay Kudashev, on Friday said that Russia had no doubt on the position of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government that its August 5, 2019 decisions on Jammu and Kashmir was an “internal affair” of India.

Kudashev said that he did not need to visit J&K as Russia had always maintained that Government of India had been well within its sovereign right to take the decisions it had taken on August 5 last year.

Russia's ambassador to India was not among the 15 foreign envoys whom the government had recently taken on a tour to J&K so that could they have a first-hand assessment of the efforts being made by it to bring the situation in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) back to normal.

“Those having doubts over India's approach on Kashmir can go there, we don't have any doubt,” he said on not being invited to visit J&K. He, however, said that he could visit J&K as a friend of India of the Government of India invited him.

He reiterated Moscow's support to New Delhi's position that the issue of J&K was a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and the two sides should settle it through dialogues, in accordance with the 1972 Shimla Agreement and 1999 Lahore Declaration.

Russia was among the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council which took up the cudgel for India on Wednesday and foiled China's bid to bring back the issue of J&K back on the Horse Shoe Table.