India’s foreign relations have touched a new high in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s era, thanks to the friendship he shares with world leaders. This is evident from support from other countries to India on various issues, and hardly any nation criticised ‘Bharat’ when it recently scrapped Article 370 and bifurcated Jammu & Kashmir. After he held telephonic talks with Modi, US President Donald Trump has said he would discuss with the Indian PM the situation in Kashmir and help ease Indo-Pak tensions when they meet at the G7 Summit in France this weekend.
Speaking to reporters at the White House while welcoming visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Trump said he was happy to try and help calm the situation in Kashmir amidst fresh Indo-Pak tensions after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Trump’s comments to a question on the tension between India and Pakistan came a day after he spoke to Prime Minister Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
‘I’m going to be with Prime Minister Modi. I’ll be with him over the weekend in France,’ Trump said, referring to the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France, during the weekend. ‘Pakistan Prime Minister (Imran) Khan was here just recently. I get along really well with both of them,’ he said. But New Delhi has made it clear to the US that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and there was no role for a third party. Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan. But, India is enjoying the support of various other countries.