Time to 'move on': India on Trump's claim on Kashmir mediation

Three days after US President Donald Trump triggered a storm by his Kashmir mediation comments, India on Thursday said it was time to "move on", asserting that the Indo-US ties remained very strong. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the issue should be put to rest as India made its position clear and the US State department issued a quick clarification.

"We should move on. A statement was made by the External Affairs Minister in both houses of Parliament. The ministry made a statement on the issue. The US State Department has issued a clarification. I think we should leave it at that," Kumar said while replying to a barrage of questions on Trump's explosive claim. Ahead of his talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in White House on Monday, Trump told reporters that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him during a meeting on the sidelines of G-20 summit in Osaka last month to mediate on the Kashmir issue.

The claim kicked up a massive row in India. The External Affairs Ministry was quick to deny Trump's startling claim while strongly reiterating India's consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan will have to be discussed bilaterally, including the Kashmir issue. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also made spoke on the issue in Parliament.

With Modi's likely travel to the US in September to attend the annual session of the UN General Assembly, the comments by the MEA spokesperson appeared to be an attempt to put behind the diplomatic unease, created by Trump's remarks. "I think we have to look at the relationship from a larger perspective... whatever we have to say, we have done that. Now, the two sides are keen to work together to strengthen the very important partnership," Kumar asserted.

"We are very strong strategic partners and we have brought deep convergence across range of issues. It is a full-service relationship," Kumar said. Sources said India had checked with the US the record of Trump-Modi meeting in Osaka and there was no mention of the two leaders talking about Kashmir or mediation.

"We have excellent trade and investment linkages, In the area of defence cooperation, we are moving towards high defence technology tie-ups. There are plenty of things on the table," the spokesperson added. Asked whether India conveyed to US its anguish over Trump's comments, the MEA spokesperson only referred to Jaishankar's statement in Parliament.

"Our relationship with US remains multifaceted...It stands on its own. It is very broad-based. The state of our relationship remains very strong," Kumar said. "There are issues on the table. There are issues relating to trade, other sectors as well as. But you have to see positives and there are several positives," he said.