US calls on India-Pakistan to continue de-escalation measures

World Wednesday 06/March/2019 13:59 PM
By: Times News Service
US calls on India-Pakistan to continue de-escalation measures

Muscat: The US has called on India and Pakistan to continue de-escalation measures, officials at the Department of State confirmed.

Speaking to the press, Robert Palladino, deputy spokesperson at the department, said, "The position of the United States is we continue to urge both sides to continue to take steps to de-escalate the situation, and that includes through direct communication.

"And we believe strongly that further military activity will exacerbate the situation. So we reiterate our call for Pakistan to abide by its United Nations Security Council commitments to deny terrorists sanctuary and to block their access to funds," he said.

Palladino confirmed that Secretary Mike Pompeo had been directly involved diplomatically with easing tensions, saying, "He spoke with leaders in both countries, and that included the Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj, National Security Adviser Doval, and Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi."

He added that the US was looking into the alleged use of an F-16 jet during clashes between India and Pakistan.

"We’ve seen those reports and we’re following that issue very closely," he said,