No third party “should play any role in this matter”, New Delhi noted.
India reiterates its position that it sees no need for US mediation in the dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir. This was reported on Thursday by the NDTV channel, citing government sources.
“India’s clear and consistent position is that no third party should play any role in the Kashmir issue”, – the source said.
Earlier Tuesday, at a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Davos, President Donald Trump said the U.S. was “very closely watching developments concerning Kashmir”, – and repeated his offer to help resolve the dispute.
That was at least the fourth offer by Trump in the past five months to mediate between the parties to the Kashmir problem, the channel said. It is expected that the U.S. President will visit India in the second half of February and may again raise the issue of mediation.
Trump caused a scandal in India last July when he claimed during a meeting at the White House with Imran Khan that he had discussed the Kashmir issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Maudie and, according to Trump, Maudie asked him to mediate the Kashmir dispute. The Indian Foreign Ministry then made a statement that Maudie never asked Trump to mediate and that New Delhi advocates that the Kashmir issue should be resolved only through bilateral negotiations with Islamabad.