US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said India’s concerns regarding Pakistan are focused on cross-border terrorism, and not on Islamabad’s role in facilitating discussions linked to Iran.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Rubio said India has consistently pointed to the presence of armed groups operating from Pakistani territory.
“They’re always concerned about that. India is always pointing to the fact that there are armed terrorist groups operating from Pakistani territory that target India,” he said.
Rubio added that India did not raise any issue over Pakistan’s involvement in facilitating or mediating talks related to Iran.
“But as far as the role they played as a mediator and a facilitator in the Iran situation, it never came up. I don’t think that they would complain about that. Their issue with Pakistan is different,” he said.
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His remarks come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts involving the United States and Iran, with regional countries also engaged in the process. At the same time, India has continued to raise concerns over Pakistan-based groups targeting its territory.
On the Iran talks, Rubio said negotiations are still underway and depend on Tehran’s response.
“It’s just the response. You’ve got to hear back, and it takes the Iranian system a little while longer to get back,” he said.
He said there is “a pretty solid” proposal under discussion, including steps related to the Strait of Hormuz and a time-bound framework for talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.
“And hopefully, we can pull it off. It has a lot of support in the Gulf and globally. Every country we’ve walked through it understands it’s reasonable and the right thing to get done,” Rubio said.
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He reiterated that US President Donald Trump is not in a hurry to finalise a deal.
“The president is not going to make a bad deal. We’re going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we explore the alternatives,” he said.
