US seeking to expand ties with Pakistan but not at India’s expense: Rubio

“I mean, we know they’re concerned for obvious reasons because of the tensions that have existed between Pakistan and India historically. But, I think they have to understand we have to have relations with a lot of different countries. We see an opportunity to expand our strategic relationship with Pakistan,” said Rubio to the press while en route to Qatar when queried about Indian concerns on Pakistan. He is expected to meet with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Malaysia on Monday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.

“Look, they (India) have some relationships with countries that we don’t have relationships with. So, it’s part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy. I don’t think anything we’re doing with Pakistan comes at the expense of our relationship or friendship with India, which is deep, historic, and important,” Rubio added.

Over the last few months, Washington has rapidly improved relations with Pakistan. The two countries signed a critical minerals cooperation agreement and recently held a counter-terrorism dialogue in Islamabad. The Trump administration has also increased contact with Pakistan’s leadership. President Trump met PM Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir in the White House in September this year. Pakistan also featured prominently in Trump’s October peace summit in Egypt, when Sharif hailed US efforts to bring peace in the Middle East.

The US Secretary of State also commented on ongoing negotiations between New Delhi and Washington to resolve the tensions which have plagued relations since July. Rubio stated that the two sides were talking about America’s latest sanctions on Russian energy giants Rosneft and Lukoil, which will likely prompt Indian companies to cut imports of Russian oil. Washington has consistently pushed New Delhi to cut its purchases of Russian energy and imposed a 25% tariff penalty on Indian goods due to India’s energy ties to Moscow.

Rubio told reporters that India had already expressed an interest in diversifying its oil portfolio, which might involve greater energy purchases from the United States. Rubio expressed confidence that India would always remain “allies and friends” with America, even as the two countries deal with a challenging slate of bilateral issues.

US President Donald Trump has claimed at several points that India has agreed to phase down its purchases of Russian energy. In response, the Ministry of External Affairs released a statement that neither confirmed nor denied the US President’s version of events. The statement stressed India’s desire to maintain diversified energy sources and access affordable supplies of energy. It also stressed India’s desire to boost energy purchases from suppliers in the United States, with talks ongoing.