(AFP) – US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday he would bring India and Pakistan to the table together after recent fighting, saying he can “solve anything.” US diplomacy last month helped bring a ceasefire that ended four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed adversaries triggered by an attack on civilians in the Indian part of divided Kashmir.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in announcing the ceasefire that the two nations had agreed to “start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.” The statement was welcomed by Pakistan, which has long sought an international role over Kashmir, but India — which has a warm relationship with the United States — was more circumspect.
Asked whether there remained plans for talks between India and Pakistan a month after the ceasefire, Trump said: “We’re going to get those two getting together, you know?” “I told them, India and Pakistan — they have a longtime rivalry over Kashmir — I said, I can solve anything. I’ll be your arbitrator,” he told reporters.
India refuses any outside mediation on Kashmir, the scenic Himalayan region which has a Muslim majority but a sizable Hindu minority. “Any India-Pakistan engagement has to be bilateral,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on May 29. “At the same time we are clear that talks and terror don’t go together.”
Gunmen on April 22 massacred 26 tourists in Kashmir, most singled out as Hindus, in the deadliest attack on civilians in decades in the region which has seen a long-running insurgency. India has accused Pakistan of backing the assailants and launched military action in response. Pakistan denies involvement and accuses India of escalating tensions.
© 2024 AFP
