Donald Trump tries again and again for mediation on Kashmir

New Delhi: Hours after bilateral meeting in New York between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the United States issued a statement asking India “to improve relations with Pakistan” and “better the lives of the Kashmiri people”.

The remarks show that the US is keen on resumption of talks between India and Pakistan. With Washington keen for US troops to exit Afghanistan and relying heavily on Pakistan for that, the US statement-especially the reference to Kashmir — is being seen as a move to placate Pakistan and protect American interests.

A White House readout of the Modi-Trump meeting said: “The President encou-raged Prime Minister Modi to improve relations with Pakistan and fulfil his promise to better the lives of the Kashmiri people.”

The White House readout also said: “Finally, both leaders expressed concerns about the situation in Afghanistan and shared ideas about how to work together to promote security and prosperity in the country.”

On trade, it said, "The President reaffirmed the importance of greatly increasing trade between the United States and India, and highlighted the need for resolving barriers to free, fair, and reciprocal trade, which includes improving United States companies' market access in India. The President noted good progress on defence and security cooperation."

Both countries are confident of a trade deal but are bargaining hard to ensure more access to each other's markets.

In the wake of repeated offers of mediation by Trump, Modi had told him in their 40- minute bilateral meeting in New York that India was "not shying away from talks with Pakistan". He told Trump that India "expected certain steps to be taken" against terrorism by Pakistan and that Pakistan had not taken those steps.

Trump had hoped that Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan would "get together" and "work out something on Kashmir", adding that "we all want to see that".

On the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terror, he said Modi had "given the message loud and clear" to Pakistan, a reference to Modi's remarks at the Houston event on Sunday, adding that Modi would be able to "handle" the situation.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said India was satisfied with the meeting's outcome, adding that New Delhi had given a "good understanding" to the US side on the challenges faced by India due to terrorism including in J&K.