President Donald Trump expresses concern over the escalating situation between India and Pakistan and stated that he would offer any possible help to de-escalate tensions
President Donald Trump expressed his concern over the escalating situation between India and Pakistan and stated that he would offer any possible help to de-escalate tensions along the India-Pakistan border.
Speaking on the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Trump said that both India and Pakistan should work the crisis out. “Oh it’s so terrible! My position is I get along with both. I know both very well and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop and hopefully they can stop now. They’ve gotten tit for tat, so hopefully they can stop now. But I know we get along with both countries very well. [We have] Good relationships with both. And I want to see it stop,” he said.
“And if I can do anything to help, I will I will be there,” Trump added.
Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he is closely monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan, following Indian missile strikes on multiple sites in Pakistan.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Rubio said, “I am monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely. I echo President Trump’s comments earlier today that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution.”
His remarks follow those of President Donald Trump, who earlier in the day acknowledged the reports of the Indian strikes and expressed hope that tensions would de-escalate swiftly.
“We just heard about it as we were walking through the doors of the Oval. Just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for a long time. They’ve been fighting for many, many decades. And centuries, actually, if you think about it. I hope it ends very quickly,” Trump said.
The State Department also addressed the situation, though it refrained from making a detailed assessment.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance has said that the India-Pakistan conflict is “fundamentally” ‘none of America’s business’ and has nothing to do with its ability to control the situation.
While speaking to Fox News, Vance said that although the United States can ask both parties to de-escalate, it cannot get involved in the conflict.
“Fundamentally, India has its gripes with Pakistan. Pakistan has responded to India, what we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit. But we are not going to get involved in the middle they were fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it,” he told Fox News.
Vance acknowledged that the US is concerned about the possibility of nuclear powers colliding and is working to prevent that from happening.
“We are concerned about any time nuclear powers colliding and having a major conflict, and what we said and what Secretary Rubio has said and the President has said- is that we want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible. We can’t control these countries, though,” he said in an interview with Fox News.
He emphasised that the US cannot force either country to stop and is relying on diplomatic channels to prevent escalation.
“America can’t tell the Indians to lay down their arms or tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. And so we will continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels, our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or God forbid, a nuclear conflict,” he told Fox News.
Vance further noted that war, if it happens, would be disastrous, and urged both nations to exercise restraint.
“But sure, we are worried about these things, but I think the job of diplomacy, but also the job of cooler heads in India and Pakistan, is to make sure this doesn’t become a nuclear war. If it happened, it would be disastrous for right now, we don’t think that will happen,” he said.
Rubio urges immediate de-escalation
Meanwhile, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Thursday said Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called for restraint amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan.
During a press briefing, Bruce said that Rubio spoke to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, urging immediate de-escalation.
“This morning Secretary Marco Rubio spoke with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and EAM Dr S Jaishankar. In both calls, the Secretary emphasised the need for immediate de-escalation and called for an end to the violence. He expressed US support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,” she said.
Rubio’s call with Jaishankar came after Pakistan reportedly opened fire along the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) border, US State Department said.
He further expressed US support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications.
“The Secretary reiterated his condolences for the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to work with India in the fight against terrorism,” US State Department wrote in a statement. In response Jaishankar, appreciated US commitment and said that India “will firmly counter any attempts at escalation.”
