US-Pakistan relations don't come at expense of India, says Marco Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stresses Washington's partnership with India remains strong ahead of talks with S Jaishankar at the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur

A day before his meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the margins of the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Kuala Lumpur, United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said that the expanding US-Pakistan strategic ties did not come at the expense of Washington’s relations with India.

 

“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,” Rubio told the media en route Doha for a refuelling stop before landing in Kuala Lumpur later in the day.

 

Rubio said the US had had a long history of partnering Pakistan on counter-terrorism. “We would like to expand it beyond that, if possible,” he said, adding that the Indians were mature when it came to diplomacy, and “have some relationships with countries that we don’t have relationships with.  So, it’s part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy”, he said.

 

Jaishankar, who landed in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday and will represent Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the EAS, is scheduled to meet Rubio on Monday.

 

The two are set to review the trade negotiations between the two countries and India’s purchases of Russian oil. 

 

With the US leadership repeatedly acknowledging that India will reduce its purchases of Russian oil, there is a likelihood of forward movement on New Delhi’s demands that the White House cut its tariffs on India, especially the additional 25 per cent it has imposed for India buying Russian oil.

 

Jaishankar and Rubio had last met in New York on September 23 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

 

In his brief interaction with the press en route Doha, US President Donald Trump said that China was reducing its purchase of Russian oil substantially and India was cutting back completely, and also pointed out that the US had put sanctions on entities dealing in Russian oil. Trump again repeated his claim that he mediated the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. He has also said, including last week, that he used trade as a bargaining chip to secure peace between the two sides. It is a claim that India has repeatedly rejected, pointing out that Pakistan reached out to India, requesting cessation of hostilities.

 

To a question on India’s purchase of Russian oil, Rubio said India had expressed an interest in diversifying its oil portfolio.

 

“So, obviously the more we sell them, the less they’ll buy from someone else,” he said. The Trump administration recently signed deals with Pakistan on mining critical minerals. It imposed a 19 per cent tariff rate on Pakistan, while 50 per cent on India.