Support Constructive Dialogue, Meaningful Diplomacy Between India, Pakistan: US

The US has said it supports constructive dialogue and meaningful diplomacy between India and Pakistan.

The United States has once again maintained that it is up to India and Pakistan to decide the way in which they want to engage with one another but said the US supports constructive dialogue and meaningful conversation between both countries. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said this in response to a question about any mediating role between India and Pakistan. 

"Analysts believe that the United States has the power and authority to mediate between the two partners. Pakistan and India are partners of yours, so why don't you just mediate?” he was asked.

"Ultimately, it is not for the United States to determine the modalities or the way in which India and Pakistan engage one another. What we support is constructive dialogue, meaningful diplomacy between India and Pakistan, in the first instance to resolve longstanding conflicts," Price said.

"Because these are decisions for the countries themselves. If they agree on a particular role for the United States, the United States is prepared to, as a partner to both countries, support that process in any way that we responsibly can,” Price told reporters at a news conference, as quoted by news agency PTI.

The United States, he said, supports constructive dialogue. "We support diplomacy between India and Pakistan to resolve, again, another set of longstanding disputes. We are a partner. We are willing to support that process in any way that they deem appropriate. But ultimately, these are decisions that India and Pakistan themselves are going to have to make,” he said. 

He also emphasised India-US ties adding that India is a global strategic partner of the United States, the Biden administration said on Thursday amidst a series of high-level of exchanges between the two countries.

Our message to India and about India is consistent. India is a global strategic partner of the United States. The engagements we've had with our Indian partners at the ministerial level, at the leader level, at all levels has been in furtherance of deepening the already extensive ties between our two countries," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at a news conference here.

"These are ties that are political in nature, diplomatic, economic, security and importantly, people-to-people ties," he said.