‘Concerned’ US eyes role in IndiaPak relationship

DELHI DISMISSIVE India says terror must stop for ‘bilateral redressal’ of issues

WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley appeared to be signalling a shift in American position when she said the Donald Trump administration would like to “find its place” in efforts to de-escalate India-Pakistan tensions but the suggestion was rejected by New Delhi, which insisted on the bilateral resolution of issues.

In remarks at a news conference on Monday, Haley, who has taken over as the UN Security Council chair, said the US was concerned about the India-Pakistan dispute and would like to “find its place” in moves to reduce tensions.

“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,” the Indian American envoy said in response to a question.

“So I would expect that the administration is in going to be in talks and try and find its place to be a part of that and we don’t think we should wait till something happens. 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.”

But the day after, no one in the Trump administration was in a hurry to back her up publicly or privately.

The White House referred questions about her remarks to the state department, which had not responded to multiple requests for response till the writing of this report.

In New Delhi, external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay responded to Haley’s remarks by saying India’s posi- tion on bilaterally resolving all issues with Pakistan hasn’t changed.

This administration is concerned about the relationship between India and Pakistan and very much wants to see how we deescalate any sort of conflict going forward... We don’t think we should wait till something happens NIKKI HALEY, US ambassador to UN