India responds to US offer of mediation with Pakistan
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New Delhi on Thursday categorically rejected any move for mediation by US President Donald Trump between Pakistan and India, saying the issue is a bilateral matter, reported Sputnik news.
"Government's position for bilateral redressal of all India-Pakistan issues in an environment free of terror and violence hasn't changed," said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay.
"We, of course, expect the international community and organisations to enforce international mechanisms and mandates concerning terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which continues to be the single biggest threat to peace and stability in our region and beyond."
Washington says it won’t wait till “something happens” between Pakistan and India and will try to de-escalate decades-old tensions between the nuclear armed neighbours.
“It’s absolutely right that this administration is concerned about the relationship between India and Pakistan and very much wants to see how we de-escalate any sort of conflict going forward,” said US envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
“We don’t think we should wait till something happens,” she said while addressing a press conference after assuming the role of President of the Security Council for the month of April.
Haley said she expects that the Trump administration is going to be in talks and try and “find its place to be a part of that (de-escalating tensions)”.
“We very much think that we should be proactive in the way that we are seeing tensions rise and conflicts start to bubble up and so we want to see if we can be a part of that.”
The remarks signal an apparent change in the US stance of not engaging in Indo-Pak disputes. New Delhi has ruled out any third party mediation, including by the UN or the US.