Trump urges 'quick' de-escalation: White House on India, Pak conflict

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump wants to see the conflict between India and Pakistan de-escalate “as quickly as possible,” the White House said on Friday.

The comments by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt came as military action between India and Pakistan intensified following India's strike on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK) under ‘Operation Sindoor' early Wednesday. India's strike was a powerful retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre on April 22, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.

"The President has expressed he wants to see this de-escalate as quickly as possible. He understands these are two countries that have been at odds with one another for decades, long before President Trump was here in the Oval Office,” Leavitt said.

“This is something that the Secretary of State and, of course, now our national security advisor as well, Marco Rubio, has been very much involved in," Leavitt added.

She was responding to a question about the US efforts to mediate or have an impact on the conflict between India and Pakistan.

She said Trump “has good relationships” with the leaders of both countries, and Rubio has been in “constant communication with the leaders of both countries, trying to bring this conflict to an end.” On Thursday, US Secretary of State Rubio spoke separately with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, emphasising the need for de-escalation and reiterated his calls for Pakistan to take concrete steps to end any support for terrorist groups.

During his call, Jaishankar conveyed to Rubio that India will firmly counter any attempts by Pakistan to escalate the situation.