‘Not At India’s Expense’: Rubio Defends US-Pakistan Ties With ‘History’ Argument | India News

Trying to strike a diplomatic balance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that Washington’s efforts to strengthen its “strategic relationship” with Pakistan would not harm its long-standing partnership with India.

Describing this as part of a “mature, pragmatic foreign policy”, Rubio pointed out that India also maintains relations with countries that the US does not.

“The opposite is also true,” Rubio told reporters Saturday on a flight to Doha, as part of President Donald Trump’s eastern tour to Malaysia and other Asian countries.

“I don’t think anything we do with Pakistan will come at the expense of our deep, historic and important relationship or friendship with India,” he told reporters, according to Bloomberg.

The comments come amid growing perceptions that the US is tilting towards Pakistan under the Trump administration, a move that has irritated New Delhi. This shift coincides with a downturn in US-India relations, worsened by President Trump’s heavy tariffs on Indian exports.

Trump has often grouped India and Pakistan in his rhetoric about ending the wars, even citing his claim to mediate between the two nuclear neighbors as justification for his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. He repeatedly claimed that he “brokered a ceasefire” between the countries during military tensions in May; India has flatly denied this claim. Pakistan, on the other hand, praised Trump’s intervention and officially nominated him for the award.

Rubio said he had been in contact with Islamabad even before tensions with New Delhi escalated, and emphasized that the administration was trying to “rebuild an alliance” and establish a broader strategic partnership.

“Look, we’re fully aware of the challenges with India and everything else,” Rubio said. “But our job is to create partnership opportunities with countries where possible. We have a long history of partnership with Pakistan on counter-terrorism and similar issues, and we would like to expand that if possible.”

The Trump administration recently imposed a 50% tariff on Indian exports to the US; half of these are described as “sanctions” linked to India’s ongoing oil trade with Russia despite the war in Ukraine. Pakistan, on the contrary, faces a customs duty rate of 19%.

Washington also signed new agreements with Islamabad on critical mineral mining and oil exploration; Trump has repeatedly referred to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Staff Asim Munir as “great leaders”; He often uses this description for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rubio arrived in Malaysia on Sunday to attend the ASEAN Summit with Trump. Prime Minister Modi skipped the summit, missing what could have been a bilateral meeting with the US President.

Continuing his self-described “peacemaker” role, Trump oversaw the signing of a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia during the summit and once again praised Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir as “great people.”

Rubio is scheduled to meet with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the summit on Monday to discuss ongoing trade negotiations and Russian oil imports.

While India reserves the right to decide who it buys energy from, Rubio said New Delhi has indicated its intention to diversify supply and buy more oil from the United States.

“The more we sell them, the less they will buy from others,” he said.

However, Trump claimed that Modi had personally assured him that India would stop buying Russian crude oil, but India diplomatically rejected this statement.

Washington argues that India’s purchases of Russian oil indirectly help finance President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. India remains one of the world’s largest importers of Russian crude oil, accounting for roughly a third of total oil imports.

According to Bloomberg, the US decision to impose sanctions on two major Russian oil suppliers last week has prompted Indian refiners to look for alternative sources of supply.