US president Donald Trump Thursday voiced confidence thatthe hostilities between India and Pakistan would end soon, saying he has some”reasonably decent” news with the US involved in trying to help reduce tensionsbetween the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
In his opening statement at a press conference at the end ofhis second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the Vietnamesecapital, Trump said the US has some “reasonably attractive news” from Pakistanand India.
“We have been involved in trying to help them (India andPakistan) stop and we have some reasonably decent news,” he told the reporters.
“I think hopefully that (tensions) could be coming to anend, it has been going on for a long time,” Trump said in his first commentssince India and Pakistan claimed to have shot down each other’s fighter planeson Wednesday, with Pakistan capturing one Indian pilot.
The US president also said that there is a lot of “dislike”(between India and Pakistan).
“There’s a lot of dislike, unfortunately. So we’ve been inthe middle, trying to help them both out and see if we can get someorganisation and some peace. And I think, probably, that’s going to behappening,” Trump said, according to an official transcript from thepresident’s press conference.
Deeply concerned over the growing confrontation between thetwo countries, the US Wednesday urged the nuclear-armed neighbours to takeimmediate steps to de-escalate tensions,warning that the potential risks associated with further military action byeither side are unacceptably high for both the countries.
“The United States is deeply concerned about rising tensionsbetween India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to take immediate steps tode-escalate the situation,” said an official of the National Security Council(NSC) of the White House.
“The potential risks associated with further military actionby either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbours, andthe international community,” the NSC official told PTI on the condition ofanonymity.
The official was responding to a question on Pakistan’sclaim that it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space andarrested a pilot.
“United States officials expressed their strong solidaritywith India following the Pulwama attack,” the official said.
The official declined to comment on direct communicationbetween the national security advisors of the two countries.
“We decline to comment on specific discussions; however,reports that India coordinated its military response with the United States areinaccurate,” the official said.
Earlier, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo talked to India’snational security advisor Ajit Doval amidst the tense ties between India andPakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and New Delhi’s air strikeagainst JeM training camp in Balakot.
Pompeo and Doval are understood to have discussed thecurrent situation in the region during the telephonic conversation onWednesday, official sources in Washington said.
US NSA John Bolton has talked to his Indian counterpart AjitDoval for a second time amidst tense ties between India and Pakistan.
Doval and Bolton are understood to have discussed thecurrent situation in the region during the telephonic conversation onWednesday, official sources here said.
Bolton previously talked to Doval on February 15 duringwhich they resolved to hold Pakistan to account for its obligations under theUN resolutions and remove all obstacles to designate Pakistan-basedJaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leader Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist”.
Bolton had supported India’s right to self-defence andoffered all assistance to India to bring the perpetrators and backers of thePulwama attack promptly to justice.
US acting defence secretary Patrick Shanahan has beenworking on efforts to de-escalating tensions and urging both Pakistan and Indiato avoid further military action, the Pentagon said in a statement.
Shanahan has been in contact with the secretary of stateMike Pompeo, national security advisor Bolton, chairman of Joint Chiefs ofStaff Joseph Dunford and commander of US Central Command, general Joseph Votelon the India-Pakistan tensions, it said.
Canada also called for de-escalation of tensions betweenIndia and Pakistan.
“Canada is gravelyconcerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan. We urge both sidesto exercise maximum restraint and avoid any further military escalation,”Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, said.
He called for a durable diplomatic solution to the existingproblem between the India and Pakistan.
“Dialogue between India and Pakistan is needed to identify adurable diplomatic solution and maintain peace and security in the region,”Freeland said.
Canada remains steadfast in its support of the global fightagainst terrorism, the Canadian Foreign Minister said.
“We are committed to working with India, Pakistan and ourinternational partners in this effort,” she said.
The US State Department also asked Pakistan to abide by itsUN Security Council commitments to “deny terrorists safe haven and block theiraccess to funds”.
“Cross-border terrorism, such as the recent attack onIndia’s CRPF on February 14, poses a grave threat to the security of theregion. We reiterate our call for Pakistan to abide by its United NationsSecurity Council commitments to deny terrorists safe haven and block theiraccess to funds,” a State Department spokesperson said in Washington.
Meanwhile, Cambodia Thursday called on Pakistan and India toexercise “utmost restraint” and avoid further clashes.
“Cambodia follows with great concern the recent escalationof tensions between Pakistan and India in the Kashmir region,” the country’sforeign ministry said in a statement.
“As friends of both countries, Cambodia hopes Pakistan andIndia exercise utmost restraint to avoid further armed clashes, which wouldgive rise to hostile sentiment among the peoples of the two countries,” itsaid.
The statement, cited by Xinhua news agency, said Cambodiabelieved that Pakistan and India could work through negotiation to defuse thecurrent tension and find appropriate solution to disputes through peacefulmeans.
Japan and Germany have urged the two countries to exerciserestraint to ensure that the situation does not escalate and have askedPakistan to take strong measures to counter terrorism.
German Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in a statement,said “every effort must be made to ensure that terrorist organisations, whichare known to have their base in Pakistan, are not only not able to carry outtheir nefarious deeds there, but are in fact combated”.
And also, once the evidence is furnished, that thoseresponsible for the terrible attack in Kashmir are held to account and do notwalk free, he said.
Noting that the situation in Kashmir “is not how wewould wish it to be”, Maas said it is now up to both Pakistan and India”to use the utmost circumspection to ensure that this does not lead to aconfrontation between the two countries”.
In a statement, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said hiscountry strongly condemns the attack on February 14, 2019 for which”Jaish-e-Mohammad” claimed responsibility and expressed concern about thedeteriorating situation in Kashmir.
“Japan urges Pakistan to take stronger measures tocounter terrorism. In response to the mounting tension due to the operationssince 26 February between the Indian Air Force and the Pakistan Air Force,Japan strongly urges India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and stabilize thesituation through dialogue,” Kono said.