"Hopefully that'll be coming to an end," Donald Trump amid hostilities between India, Pakistan
Highlights
- Donald Trump indicated a resolution amid tension between India, Pakistan
- "Hopefully that'll be coming to an end," said Trump
- Trump's comments came on the sidelines of his meeting with Kim Jong-Un
US President Donald Trump today said "we have some reasonably decent news from India and Pakistan", indicating a resolution amid tension between the two countries over the past few days. Donald Trump's comments at a press conference in Hanoi, on the sidelines of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, offered hope of de-escalation a day after hostilities peaked with aerial combat between Indian and Pakistani warplanes.
"I think reasonably attractive news from Pakistan and India, they have been going at it and we have been involved and have them stop, we have some reasonably decent news, hopefully it's going to be coming to an end, this has been going on for a long time, decades and decades," the US President said in response to questions.
Earlier, the US had called on India and Pakistan to "cease all cross-border military activity" and "take immediate steps to deescalate the situation, including through direct communication".
Urging the neighbours to make efforts for a "return to stability", the US also repeated that Pakistan must abide by its UN Security Council commitments to deny terrorists a safe haven and block their access to funds.
The statement referred to the killing of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed and said "cross-border terrorism poses a grave threat to the security of the region".
Days after the Pulwama attack - the deadliest in decades - India sent fighter jets to Pakistan in the early hours of Tuesday and struck the biggest training camp of Jaish in Balakot.
Yesterday, the government said Pakistani aircraft had tried to target Indian military installations but were chased back. A Pakistani aircraft was shot down, said the government.
Pakistan said it had taken an Indian pilot captive, after which the government put out a strong statement and said it expects the "immediate and safe return" of the pilot and lodged a strong protest over the "unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan".
President Trump had earlier, after the Pulwama attack, said, "India is looking at something very strong. India just lost almost 50 people in the attack. I can understand that too."
World powers have urged restraint as tensions escalated.