*WASHINGTON: Cautioning that further military activity will exacerbate thesituation between Pakistan and India, the US State Department urged boththe sides to continue taking steps to defuse tensions.*

“The position of the United States is we continue to urge both sides tocontinue to take steps to de-escalate the situation, and that includesthrough direct communication,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson RobertPalladino told a briefing.

He was responding to a question about the US assessment of the situationbetween the two countries and efforts made by US Secretary of State MikePompeo in calming the situation.

The spokesman said: “We believe strongly that further military activitywill exacerbate the situation.”

He said the US secretary led diplomatic engagement directly, which playedan essential role in de-escalating the tensions between the two sides.

“He spoke with leaders in both countries, and that included the IndianMinister of External Affairs [Sushma] Swaraj, National Security Advisor[Ajit] Doval, and Pakistani Foreign Minister [Shah Mahmood] Qureshi.”