Washington closely monitors India-Pakistan developments, says Rubio
Washington: The United States continues to monitor developments between India and Pakistan “every single day,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday, just days after US President Donald Trump claimed he had brokered a ceasefire between the two nations.
Rubio made the remarks during an interview with NBC News’ Meet The Press, addressing the sharp rise in Russian attacks on Ukraine following Trump’s tenure in the Oval Office.
“The 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. One of the challenges with ceasefires is that they must be maintained, which is very difficult. Every single day, we keep an eye on what’s happening between Pakistan and India, and also between Cambodia and Thailand. Ceasefires can collapse very quickly, especially after a prolonged conflict like the three-and-a-half-year war we are currently facing,” Rubio said.
His comments came shortly after Trump again asserted that he had “brokered a ceasefire deal” between India and Pakistan. This marked approximately the 40th such claim by Trump, which New Delhi has consistently rejected, emphasizing that all matters with Pakistan remain strictly bilateral.
When asked why the Trump administration had not imposed new sanctions on Russia despite repeated threats, Rubio said, “Every sanction in place on the day he took office remains, and their impacts remain as well. For example, when the Russians landed in Alaska to refuel, they had to pay in cash because they couldn’t use our banking system. They face consequences every day. But these sanctions haven’t altered the direction of the war—not that they are inappropriate, just that they haven’t changed the outcome.”
He added, “The moment you impose new sanctions, your leverage to bring them to the table—our leverage as well—will be significantly reduced.”
Meanwhile, US-India ties faced fresh tension on the trade front. Government sources confirmed that the US team will not travel to India for the sixth round of bilateral trade negotiations scheduled for August 25.
“The US trade team will not be coming to India for the next round of negotiations. They were scheduled to visit on August 25 for the sixth round,” a source told reporters here. The fifth round was held in Washington, DC, from July 14–18, 2025.
This setback follows Trump’s recent decision to impose an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods—raising the total to 50%—alongside an unspecified penalty for India’s continued oil imports from Russia.
“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, but is also selling much of it on the open market for large profits. They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA,” Trump wrote in a recent post.
In a CNBC interview, the US President accused India of “fueling the war machine” by continuing to purchase Russian oil.
