Putin’s Aide Backs Trump’s ‘Mediator’ Claim In India-Pakistan Peace, India Not Amused

<p>Aide to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yury Ushakov, has endorsed US President Donald Trump’s claim of having brokered a cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan. Ushakov said that the India-Pakistan conflict was resolved with ‘personal’ involvement of US President Donald Trump, as was discussed in a telephonic conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>”Middle East was discussed, as well as the armed conflict between India and Pakistan, which has been halted with the personal involvement of President Trump,” he said.</p>
<p>The issue stands as a bone of contention between the US and India, as All-Party Delegation Leader and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the delegation, during their meeting with US Vice President JD Vance, cleared the air around US President Donald Trump’s claim of mediating between the India-Pakistan crisis.</p>
<p>Tharoor, while talking to ANI, said that the delegation’s meeting with Vance was a good one and that he understood their position.</p>
<p>”The meeting with Vice President Vance was outstanding, very good, very clear. I think we made our position amply clear on this question of mediation, and Vice President Vance fully understood our points,” he said.</p>
<p>Tharoor said that mediation implies equivalence between the two parties. And there can be no equivalence between Pakistan, which is an incubator of terrorism, and India, a victim of terror.</p>
<p>”The main point is that mediation implies an equivalence between two parties, and there can be no equivalence between terrorists and their victims, between those who are offering safe havens to terrorists and, on the other one on our hand, multi-party democracy. On the one hand, the place from which attacks are coming, another country which is in the process of defending itself, exercising its right to survive, there can be no equivalence,” he said.</p>
<p>Tharoor said that the message of India’s stance on mediation claim was understood by Vance and also by the other levels of the US administration.</p>
<p>”And therefore I think that we suggested that that would not be an appropriate way of looking at it, and the message has been very clearly understood by the Vice President and certainly at other levels of the system, I think the message has been clearly understood,” he said.</p>
<p>US President Donald Trump on May 31 claimed credit for brokering a cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, asserting that his administration’s trade negotiations potentially averted a nuclear war between the two nations.</p>