New Delhi: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has assured India that Washington’s growing engagement with Pakistan will not come at the cost of its strategic relationship with New Delhi, seeking to address concerns over closer US ties with Islamabad and Beijing.
During his two day visit to India, Rubio stressed that the United States does not view its relationships with other countries as a trade off against its partnership with India. He pointed to Washington’s ongoing engagement with New Delhi, including efforts to advance a bilateral trade agreement and expand cooperation across several sectors.
Rubio also rejected comparisons between the current US approach to South Asia and the policies pursued during President Richard Nixon’s administration in the 1970s. At the time, Washington maintained close ties with Pakistan’s military leadership under General Yahya Khan, amid the broader strategic rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.
According to Rubio, the international environment has changed considerably since the Cold War, making direct comparisons with that period inappropriate.
Addressing the Trump administration’s growing engagement with Pakistan, including contacts with the country’s defence chief, Asim Munir, Rubio said maintaining ties with Islamabad could also serve a constructive purpose. He indicated that Washington could use its influence to discourage actions that might raise tensions between India and Pakistan or increase the risk of conflict.
Rubio acknowledged that Pakistan remains an important country with which the United States needs to maintain diplomatic relations, while reiterating that these ties would not undermine its partnership with India.
His remarks come amid wider regional concerns over Washington’s evolving diplomatic and security relationships in South Asia.
During the visit, Rubio also discussed the challenges involved in ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has continued for four years. He described the conflict as a complex international issue, noting that a straightforward solution would likely have emerged much earlier if resolving it were easy.
The visit forms part of Washington’s broader diplomatic engagement with India, with trade, strategic cooperation and regional security remaining key areas of focus.
