India-China Dokalam standoff: Will not take sides, says Nepal

“Nepal will not get dragged into this or that side in the border dispute,” said the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
Kathmandu: Nepal has refused to take any sides in the ongoing Dokalam standoff between India and China. “Nepal will not get dragged into this or that side in the border dispute,” the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara said yesterday, reported the PTI.
Mahara, who is also the Foreign Minister, said Nepal wants both India and China to use “peaceful diplomatic means” to resolve Sikkim issue, said Mahara.
“Some media reports are attempting to drag us in favour of one or the other side, but I want to make it clear that we have not taken any side in this matter,” he Mahara.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is scheduled to visit India August 23 to 27. Detailed itinerary of the visit is yet to be finalised, Mahara said.
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang is scheduled visit Nepal on August 14. His visit will be development-centric, and it cannot be linked with the prime minister’s visit to India in any way, added Mahara.
On June 16, Indian Army stopped the construction of a road in Dokalam by Chinese troops. The two nations have been locked in a stand-off since then.