The United States appears eager to claim credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has echoed earlier assertions by President Trump.
Washington appears intent on projecting itself as the architect of peace. In fresh remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the United States keeps a constant watch on the India-Pakistan situation, even suggesting it played a key role in achieving the ceasefire between the two nuclear neighbours. “I mean, every single day we keep an eye on what’s happening between Pakistan and India, what’s happening between Cambodia and Thailand,” Rubio said.ย His comments follow multiple assertions by US President Donald Trump that his administration brokered ceasefire between India and Pakistan, a claim India has firmly and consistently rejected.
Rubio doubles downย
Rubio didn’t stop at one interview. Speaking separately to Fox Business, he reiterated the US administration’s peace-making narrative. “We are very fortunate and blessed and should be thankful to have a President who has made peace and the achievement of peace a priority of his administration,” Rubio said. “We have seen it in Cambodia and Thailand. We have seen it in India-Pakistan.”
India reiterates: No third-party mediationย
The remarks are in sharp contrast to official Indian statements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a recent parliamentary discussion on Operation Sindoor, Indiaโs retaliatory cross-border operation made it explicitly clear that no foreign leader had asked India to call off the military mission. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also categorically dismissed suggestions of any third-party involvement in the ceasefire process.ย
โThere was no intervention from any other country. It was entirely a bilateral decision,โ Jaishankar said.
Rubio blames Russiaย
Rubioโs India-Pakistan remarks came in the broader context of a discussion on global ceasefires, particularly the war in Ukraine.ย Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, he acknowledged the difficulty of achieving and maintaining ceasefires, specifically blaming Russia for the lack of progress in Ukraine.
โThe only way to have a ceasefire is for both sides to agree to stop firing at one another. And the Russians just haven’t agreed to that,โ he said. Rubio’s comments came just a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyโs visit to the White House, where ceasefire and peace negotiations are expected to be a central focus.
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