India-Pakistan war is not our
concern: US Vice President Vance
US Vice President JD Vance has said that tensions between India and Pakistan should be de-escalated. He said the US does not control the two nuclear-armed Asian neighbours and a war between them is “not in our sights”.
Vance made the remarks in an interview with Fox News’ “The Story with Martha McCallum” on Thursday.
“We want this situation to calm down as quickly as possible. But we cannot control these countries. We can at least encourage these countries to de-escalate. But we do not want to get involved in a war that is not in our sights. This is not something that the United States has any control over,” Vance said.
The United States considers India an important ally in the face of China's growing influence. Pakistan is also an ally of the United States. However, Pakistan's importance to the United States has decreased after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021.
Vance said, "We want this situation to calm down as quickly as possible. But we cannot control these countries. We can at most encourage these countries to de-escalate tensions. But we do not want to get involved in a war that is not primarily our concern. This is not something that the United States has the opportunity to control."
Some analysts and former officials say that the United States is now focused on achieving diplomatic goals in Russia's war in Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza. And for this reason, the US government may not put much direct pressure on the two countries in the initial period of tension between India and Pakistan. Washington can leave India and Pakistan to their own devices.
Pakistan's defense minister said more retaliation was "increasingly inevitable" as major clashes between India and Pakistan continued for a second day on Thursday. Both sides accused each other of drone strikes. Nearly four dozen people have been killed in the two-day clash.
Tensions between arch-rivals India and Pakistan have been rising since gunmen killed 26 people in Pahelgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, on April 22. India blamed Pakistan for the Pahelgam attack. Pakistan has denied the allegations and demanded an impartial investigation into the incident.
"Our hope is that this situation does not escalate into a larger regional war. God forbid, it does not escalate into a nuclear conflict," Vance said on Thursday.
Washington has been holding regular talks with both countries recently. On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with the Pakistani Prime Minister and the Indian Foreign Minister. He urged the two sides to de-escalate tensions and stressed direct dialogue.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump also said he hoped the two countries would stop the reciprocal attacks. Washington urged the two countries to move towards a "responsible solution".
0 Comments