US asks Pakistan, India to resolve issues through diplomacy

WASHINGTON: The United States has pressed Pakistan and India to find a solution to all outstanding issues through diplomacy and not violence, according to a spokesman for the White House.

Josh Earnest, spokesman for the White House, said there have been important advancements towards resolution of issues between the two countries over the past few years and it is hoped that they would continue it to bring stability to the region.

Refraining from directly condemning the Uri attack, the spokesman, however, said the US denounces terrorism wherever it takes place in the world.

Asked about any contact made with New Delhi or Islamabad following the Indian allegations after the attack, Earnest said this was something the State Department could better explain.

Of late, tensions soared high between the two nuclear armed adversaries in South Asia over the disputed Kashmir region as over 100 innocent Kashmiris have been killed at the hands of Indian forces.

To a question, the spokesman on the 9/11 lawsuit bill said that congressional action that would address the concerns will be welcomed.

“So I guess that’s the reason that we’re having conversations, is to try to find an approach that would satisfy the concerns and the desire of some members of Congress to want to address the request of the 9/11 families. And we’re hopeful that they can find a way to do that that doesn’t carve out the kinds of exceptions that put our diplomats and service members at risk around the world,” he said.

On Syria, he said an increase in violence has been seen in the Middle Eastern country over the last several days.

“That’s not a welcome development at all. In fact, the arrangement that we tried to reach with the Russians was engineered to try to reduce violence. And unfortunately, that only worked for a rather short period of time,” he said.

“The president believes that Bashar al-Assad has lost legitimacy to lead that country; that, moving forward, it is impossible to imagine the country of Syria coming together and being led by a tyrant that has used the military might of the country to attack his own people. It is impossible for him to have any — just as a practical matter — setting aside the moral questions here, just as a practical matter, there’s no reasonable prospect that President Assad would build, earn, or win the confidence of even a majority of the Syrian people,” Earnest said.

When asked is the United States concerned about the North Korea as a state sponsor of terror country, Earnest said the US is certainly deeply concerned about the kind of provocations that emanate from North Korea.

“And you hear the president on a regular basis express his solidarity and our nation’s solidarity with our allies in South Korea, our allies in Japan who are facing the biggest risk from North Korea’s activities. So the United States is resolute in stance in support of allies, and the US is committed to playing a leading role in the international community in working with not just our allies but also our partners like Russia and China in applying significant pressure on North Korea and bringing them into compliance with their international obligations and with a variety of UN Security Council resolutions that they violate all too frequently,” he said.