WASHINGTON: The United States will be ‘very supportive’ if conditions are created for productive talks between India and Pakistan, Dawn News quoted senior US diplomat Alice G Wells as having said.
Wells, who heads the bureau for South and Central Asian affairs at the State Department, made the remarks during her news briefing on Monday.
Wells was asked if Pakistan had sent a message through US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on India-Pakistan dialogue and if that was raised during Pompeo’s meeting with the Indian foreign minister.
“In general, the United States supports dialogue between India and Pakistan that can reduce tensions,” said Wells, without confirming or denying if Islamabad had sent such a message.
“We understand and had frequent conversations with the Indian partners on the expectations that there would be a demonstrable reduction in cross-border terrorism or infiltration that would help create the confidence for dialogue to take place,” the report quoted her as saying.
Wells said the US had also welcomed the positive messages that were exchanged between Prime Minister Khan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Khan’s election and deferred to the two governments on how they could build on what was already existing structures.
She also identified the channels of communication that the two neighbors were already using, such as the dialogue between their national security advisers and the DGMOs, and the people-to-people ties that have been sustained through a bus service.
“And so, this is if the conditions can be created for productive bilateral conversation, obviously we would be very supportive,” she added.