India and China walk back from border standoff

China and India said on Friday they had agreed to de-escalate renewed tensions on their contested Himalayan border and take steps to restore "peace and tranquility" following a high-level diplomatic meeting in Moscow.

Emer Mccarthy reports.

India and China are once again trying to diffuse the tense military standoff on their mutual border, with Russia as a mediator.

Top diplomats from India and China met in Moscow on Friday (September 11), and said that they'd agreed to disengage their forces in the Himalayas and de-escalate.

20 Indian troops were killed in a clash in June there and the most recent incident came this week when both countries accused each other of firing into the air, violating a long-held protocol not to use firearms in the area.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement that its State Councillor, Wang Yi told India's Foreign Minister S.

Jaishankar, quote, the "imperative is to immediately stop provocations such as firing and other dangerous actions that violate the commitments made by the two sides." He also said all personnel and equipment that have trespassed at the border must be moved to de-escalate the situation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said both countries made a useful decision.

The Moscow meeting is the latest diplomatic effort to head off a broader conflict between the world's two most populous countries, which went to war in 1962.