New Delhi: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently visiting India. On Thursday, he spoke openly about America’s fight against terrorism and the relationship between the US and Pakistan. Rubio stated that America’s close relationship with Pakistan will not come at the expense of its partnership with India. On the issue of terrorism, he said that both countries (the US and India) share similar concerns.
Speaking to India Today, Marco Rubio said, “Our relationship with Pakistan is in no way at the expense of our relationship with India, and Washington and New Delhi share similar concerns about terrorism.” Rubio said that Washington’s global interests require it to maintain relationships with countries around the world, including Pakistan. The US has also had a long-standing relationship with Pakistan.
US has been a victim of terrorism
He said the changing relationship could give Washington greater leverage to influence Islamabad’s decisions on various issues. “I think it’s just developed in a way that hopefully will allow us to have more influence on their decisions on various topics,” he said. Regarding America’s war on terrorism, he said the US has been a victim of it and that there is no other country in the world that does as much against terrorism as the US does.
“No country in the world does more against terrorism than the United States,” Rubio said. “The United States has destroyed the Islamic State’s territorial stranglehold, weakened al-Qaeda, and killed its leader, Osama bin Laden.”
Protests in India were termed a domestic political matter
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday refused to comment on the recent protests against the Election Commission in India, calling it a domestic political matter. Rubio also dismissed references to UN experts criticizing the protests. According to a statement issued by the US State Department on Wednesday, Rubio called the UN experts contradictory.
This is a domestic political matter: Rubio
He said, “This is a domestic political matter. I’m not going to interfere in their politics. This is a democratic country. Elections are held here, so I won’t comment on their domestic political matters.” He added that protests occur every day in the US, reflecting the political discourse and differences of opinion there. Rubio said, “Protests occur every day in the US. People view protests from different perspectives. Obviously, I’m not talking about riots like we’re seeing in Europe, where people are vandalizing, forcibly entering buildings, and setting them on fire. I’m not talking about those incidents.”
