America
US welcomes Modi, Sharif meeting to reduce tensions
Washington, July 10
The US has welcomed the
upcoming meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his
Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif saying that a rise in tensions in the
regions was in nobody’s interest.
The US welcomed Friday’s
meeting between the two leaders on sidelines of SCO Summit in Ufa,
Russia, State Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Thursday
in response to a question.
“And we also welcome any steps that
both countries can take to try to reduce the tensions,†he said. “That’s
been our longstanding position.â€
Kirby recalled that Secretary
of State John Kerry had a couple of weeks ago said “we want to see the
tensions reduced, and we want to see these issues resolved bilaterally
between the two countries.â€
“It’s in nobody’s interest for the
tensions to rise and to increase, and for the tensions in the region to
become less stable in many ways than they already are,†he said.
Kirby
declined to comment on Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif’s
reported remark that “If we need to use nuclear weapons for our
survival, we will.â€
“I didn’t see those comments and I can’t
speak for how leaders in either country are going to make announcements
on their bilateral relationship - or, frankly, their bilateral
tensions,†he said.
“You mention both want peace; that’s
certainly what we want as well,†Kirby said. “There’s an awful lot of
kids living in that part of the world who I think everybody wants to
make sure they have a better future.
“And I think that’s what we
would hope the leaders in both countries are also trying to pursue," he
said. "But ultimately these are issues that we want to see them solve
bilaterally."