Aboard Air Force One –
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that India and Pakistan would resolve their tensions themselves, amid rising hostilities following a deadly attack in Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir — the worst in nearly two decades.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that tensions between the two neighbors were longstanding.
“Tensions have existed for 1,500 years, so you know, the same as it’s been,” he said. “But they’ll get it figured out, one way or the other, I’m sure of that.”
Trump, who described himself as being “very close to India” and “very close to Pakistan,” avoided answering directly when asked whether he would reach out to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif or his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
“The Kashmir dispute has been ongoing for a thousand years, probably longer than that,” Trump added.
US calls for restraint Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Thursday that Washington was “monitoring the situation closely” but was not taking a position on the status of Jammu and Kashmir.
“It’s a rapidly changing situation,” she said. “We are not now taking a position on the status of Kashmir or Jammu,” declining to offer further comment.
UN urges peaceful resolution Separately, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also appealed to both India and Pakistan to exercise “maximum restraint.”
“The secretary general is obviously following the situation very closely and with very great concern,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a briefing in New York.
“We very much appeal to both governments to exercise maximum restraint and ensure that the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate further.”
Dujarric added that the UN chief had not engaged in direct contact with either country’s leadership but emphasized that all disputes “can and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement.”
Commenting on India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, Dujarric reiterated the UN’s call to avoid any actions that could further escalate tensions in the region.
