Washington, Aug 02: US President Donald Trump has said the issue of Kashmir is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan but he would be happy to mediate if they want him to do so.
Last week, Trump had made a stunning claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to mediate on the vexed issue during their meeting in Japan, evoking a sharp reaction from India which denied Modi making any such request.
“It’s really up to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi (to accept the offer of mediation),” Trump told reporters responding to a question on India not accepting his offer of mediation on Kashmir.
“Have they accepted the offer or not?” Trump sought a clarification when asked about India’s rejection of his mediation offer.
“I think they are fantastic people — Khan and Modi — I mean. I would imagine they could get along very well, but if they wanted somebody to intervene, to help them…. and I spoke with Pakistan about that and I spoke frankly in (sic) India about it,” Trump said.
He rued that the issue of Kashmir had been going on for a long time.
When asked how would he “want to resolve the Kashmir issue”, Trump said, “If I can, if they wanted me to, I would certainly intervene.”
