Ahead of his meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Kuala Lumpur, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized US-India relations as “deep, historic, and significant” and emphasized that his country’s relationship with Pakistan does not undermine its “relationship” and “friendship” with India.
This outreach occurs at a moment when relations between Delhi and Washington have been tense due to the Trump administration’s imposition of 50 percent tariffs on India, a closer engagement between US President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s leadership, including its Army chief, and Trump’s ongoing assertions about facilitating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May of this year.
Rubio expressed these views while en route to Kuala Lumpur, where leaders have convened for the ASEAN and East Asia summits. Additionally, Trump reiterated his claim that India is set to cease oil purchases from Russia, stating that India is reducing its Russian oil imports “entirely” while China will decrease its purchases “significantly.”
In response to inquiries regarding India’s apprehensions about the US-Pakistan relationship, Rubio stated, “They really haven’t (raised concerns). I mean, we know they are concerned for obvious reasons because of the tensions that have existed between Pakistan and India historically.
But, I think they have to understand we have to have relations with a lot of different countries. We see an opportunity to expand our strategic relationship with Pakistan, and I think we have… to try to figure out how many countries we can find, how we can work with on things of common interest.”
“I think the Indians are very mature when it comes to diplomacy and things of that nature. Look, they have some relationships with countries that we don’t have relationships with. So, it’s part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy. I don’t think anything we are doing with Pakistan comes at the expense of our relationship or friendship with India, which is deep, historic and important,” he remarked.
When asked about the US’s involvement in the pause of the India-Pakistan military confrontation – a claim rejected by Delhi – Rubio responded, “No, I think they appreciated.
Anytime you work with someone, you get to know them and you interact with them, and so I do think there was some sense of happiness about it. But even before that conflict had started, I had already reached out to them and said look, we are interested in rebuilding an alliance, a strategic partnership with you. We think there are things we can work together with them on.”
“We are acutely aware of the challenges related to India and other matters; however, our responsibility is to seek opportunities for partnerships with nations where feasible. Historically, we have collaborated extensively with Pakistan on counter-terrorism and similar issues.
We aspire to broaden this collaboration, recognizing that there will be certain difficulties and challenges. Nevertheless, it is quite encouraging to see the relationship strengthen as it has, and I believe this does not detract from our positive relationship with India or any other country,” he stated.
When asked about the sanctions imposed on Russian companies, he remarked, “We are still in discussions. We have broader trade matters to address as well, but they will always remain our allies and friends.”
In a separate statement, Trump, while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Kuala Lumpur, noted that “India is significantly reducing” its purchases of Russian oil “entirely.”
In response to a question regarding whether he would raise the topic of Russian oil with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their upcoming meeting, Trump indicated that he might bring it up.
“I may discuss it, but you know China; you likely saw the news. China is substantially reducing its purchases of Russian oil,” Trump commented.
He is scheduled to meet Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.
