United States Vice-President JD Vance has said that the conflict between India and Pakistan is "fundamentally none of our business," though he and President Donald Trump are encouraging both the countries to de-escalate.
In an interview with Fox News, Vance, who has been a proponent of US disengagement from international conflicts, said, "What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we're not going to get involved in the middle of war that's fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America's ability to control it. You know, America can't tell the Indians to lay down their arms. We can't tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. And so, we're going to continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels.”
"Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict," Vance added.
"Right now, we don't think that's going to happen."
The remarks by Vance came as Pakistan made an attempt to attack military establishments in Jammu, Pathankot and several other cities. India's air defence system reportedly intercepted and neutralised at least eight missiles launched by Pakistan.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said he wants India and Pakistan to "stop" what he described as "tit for tat" actions, saying if he can do anything to "help", he will be there.
"Oh it's so terrible. My position is I get along with both. I know both very well and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop and hopefully they can stop now. They have gone tit for tat, so hopefully they can stop now. I know both, we get along with both the countries very well."
"Good relationships with both and I want to see it stop. And If I can do anything to help, I will be there," Trump said in response to a question on the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan.
Trump's remarks came after the Indian military carried out strikes against terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan's Punjab province on Wednesday, May 7.
India launched Operation Sindoor early May 7, hitting nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Punjab province of Pakistan in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
