India on Monday night outrightly rejected US President Donald Trump's claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to mediate in the Kashmir issue with Pakistan.
On Monday, during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Trump stunned India, claiming PM Modi had asked if he would like to be "a mediator or arbitrator" in the decades-long conflict between two neighbours.
This, Trump said, occurred during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan where the two leaders interacted.
However, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a series of tweets, rubbished President Trump's claims, saying, "No such request has been made by PM @narendramodi to US President. It has been India's consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally."
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"Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross border terrorism. The Shimla Agreement & the Lahore Declaration provide the basis to resolve all issues between India & Pakistan bilaterally," MEA spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted.
Earlier, Trump said he "would love to be a mediator" in the Kashmir issue if he could help. "If I can do anything to help, let me know," Trump said in response to a question, adding that he is ready to help if the two countries ask for it.
"I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago and we talked about this subject (Kashmir). And he said, 'would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator?' I said, 'where?' (Modi said) 'Kashmir'," Trump said.
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India has been consistent with its policy that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and there is no scope for any role by any third party.
(With inputs from PTI)
