The United States is trying to balance its commitments in Pakistan without undermining its longstanding partnership with India, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday.
“It’s part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy,” Rubio told reporters on a flight to Doha. “I don’t think anything we do with Pakistan is at the expense of our relationship or friendship with India, which is deep, historic and important.”
In diplomacy, the opposite is true.
Rubio noted that just as India maintains ties with countries with which the US is not fully aligned, Washington will also seek strategic relationships based on its interests.
“Look, we’re fully aware of the challenges with India and everything else, but our job is to try to create opportunities to partner with countries where possible,” he said. “And we have a long history of partnering with Pakistan on counter-terrorism and things like that. We’d like to expand that if possible.”
Renewing the Pakistan Partnership
Rubio said he reached out to Pakistan before recent tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi escalated. The US, he said, was “interested in renewing the alliance, the strategic partnership.”
Peace demands disputed by India
Pakistan and India came close to full-scale conflict in May. Trump said he used trade pressure to bring the two sides to the negotiating table. India rejected the claim, while Pakistan praised his intervention and even nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize at the time.
The Trump administration has strengthened trade and strategic cooperation with Pakistan, including agreements on oil and critical minerals. In contrast, President Donald Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian exports to the US, a significantly higher rate than Pakistan’s 19% rate.
On Sunday, Trump oversaw a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia and used the opportunity to highlight his efforts to mediate the conflict. He also praised Pakistan’s leadership, calling Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir “great people”.
Negotiations with India at the Asean Summit
Rubio is likely to meet Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday on the sidelines of the Asean summit. The program is expected to include bilateral trade talks and continued purchase of Russian oil by India.
President Trump has demanded that India stop importing oil from Russia, arguing that the revenue will bolster Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
Oil diversification plans
The US recently imposed sanctions on two of Russia’s main oil suppliers. Rubio said India has assured Washington that it intends to diversify its energy purchases.
“The more we sell them, the less they buy from somebody else,” he said.
