'Will Not Mediate; India & Pakistan Should Settle Issues Between Themselves', States Biden Administration

In a move that would please New Delhi, the Biden administration has stated that it would not mediate between India and Pakistan, reports Economic Times.

It should be noted that announcement comes ahead of the United States (US)' Secretary of State Antony Blinken's two-day visit to India from 27-28 July during which he is likely to hold meetings with Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar.

Dean Thompson, the US acting assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, reportedly told a select group of reporters on Friday that the issues between India and Pakistan were "ones for them to work out between themselves".

He added that the US is pleased to see that the ceasefire that went into place earlier this year has remained intact.

He said, "We certainly always encourage them to continue their efforts to find ways to build a more stable relationship going forward."

The development marks a significant departure from former president Donald Trump's policy where he himself had offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on more than one occasion.

During Blinken's visit, recovery from the COVID-19 situation, vaccines, deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and the situation with respect to China are expected to figure among the key agendas during his meetings with Indian leaders. The visit will also help to finetune the agenda for the next edition of the 2+2 meeting (of foreign and defence ministers) betwen the two nations.