U.S. President Donald Trump said he would do his best to mediate or help somehow with the tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
Mr. Trump drew attention to the fact that he had spoken to the Prime Ministers of both countries on Monday and that he would be meeting Prime Minister Modi in Biarritz, France, for the G7 summit over the weekend. He stopped short of directly saying that he would discuss the Kashmir issue with Mr. Modi over the weekend.
“I get along really well with both of them. As you know, Prime Minister Khan was here just recently. And I was with ... I’m going to be with Prime Minister Modi. I’ll be with him over the weekend in France,” he said.
“I think we’re helping the situation. But there’s [sic] tremendous problems between those two countries, as you know. And I will do the best I can to mediate or do something,” Mr. Trump said on Tuesday afternoon in the Oval Office in the presence of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis prior to their bilateral meeting.
“Great relationship with both of them [ Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan], but they are not exactly friends at this moment. Complicated situation. A lot has to do with religion. Religion is a complicated subject,” Mr. Trump added. The segment of his comments on Kashmir also included his version of a history of the region.
“Well, they’ve been having this ... these talks for hundreds of years, even under different names. But this is ... but it’s Kashmir. And Kashmir is a very complicated place. You have the Hindus and you have the Muslims, and I wouldn’t say they get along so great. And that’s what you have right now,” Mr. Trump said, calling the situation “very explosive”.
The U.S. has been concerned about the risk of a nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan — concerns that have especially been stressed since the terror attack in Pulwama on February 14 and the ensuing hostilities between the two countries. The U.S. also seeks Pakistan’s cooperation in ensuring that a peace deal is struck with the Taliban and the U.S. can begin withdrawing from Afghanistan.
