MUMBAI: India and China should urgently address the “prolonged situation” on their border, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in remarks published on Wednesday, in an apparent softening of tone on bilateral issues between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

“It is my belief that we need to urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us,” Modi said in an interview with U.S. publication Newsweek.

Ties between India and China, who share a long mountainousborder, have been strained since troops of both countries clashed on their disputed Himalayan frontier, killing 24 soldiers, in 2020.

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In May last year, Modi said peace on the border was essential for normal relations with China, adding that India was committed to protecting its sovereignty and dignity.

Internal security and strong foreign policy are two planks Modi has used as he campaigns for a record third term, in a general election that gets under way next week and will span nearly two months.

“For India, the relationship with China is important and significant,” Modi said, adding that peaceful relations between the two neighbours were important for the entire region andworld.

India and China share a 3,800 km (2,400 mile) border - muchof it poorly demarcated - over which they also fought a bloodywar in 1962.