New Delhi: US President Donald Trump said the issue of Kashmir is a big problem between India and Pakistan and reiterated his offer for mediation to ease tensions. He said Kashmir is like "a thorn in a lot of people's sides" for a long time and there are two sides to every story.
Trump, who held comprehensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the second and the last day of his visit to India, said he shared good terms with Pakistan PM Imran Khan.
"If anything I can do to mediate, I will do. Kashmir has been a thorn in lots of people's sides for a long time. There are two sides to every story," he said, adding that Pakistan figured in his talks with Modi.
"I have good equations with Pakistan PM Imran Khan. They are working to control cross-border terrorism," he said.
The US president said he discussed the issue of religious freedom at length with Modi during his comprehensive talks and that the Indian leader wants people to have this freedom.
To a question about India's new citizenship law, he said, "I don't want to say anything on CAA. It is up to India. I hope it will take the right decision for its people."
In January, Trump had repeated his offer to "help" resolve the Kashmir issue between the two nations during his meeting with the Pakistan PM on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"We will discuss the situation in Kashmir. We can mediate on the issue. We are working with Pakistan on some borders and we were talking about Kashmir in relation to what is going on between Pakistan and India. If we can help, we certainly will be helping. We have been watching that and following it very very closely," he had said.
On earlier occasions too, Trump had made similar offers to resolve the crisis. He had said this for the first time in July 2019 when Khan was visiting Washington DC. "If I can help, I would love to be a mediator," Trump had said, in response to Khan's appeal to use his good offices. He had repeated the same on August 1 that year.
New Delhi maintains that there is no scope for any third-party mediation between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
(With inputs from PTI)
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