Vice President JD Vance said that the U.S. will not intervene in the conflict between India and Pakistan, adding that it’s “fundamentally none of our business”. Vance made these statements during an interview with Fox News, during which he explained that the U.S. will try to de-escalate the conflict, but cannot force either side to “lay down their arms.”
“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it,” Vance said during the interview.
Since the United States cannot force either side to lay down its arms, he continued, the country “would continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels”.
“Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict,” Vance added, “Right now, we don’t think that’s going to happen.”
As explained by the Guardian, the vice president’s remarks are in line with Donald Trump’s “America first” foreign policy, which calls for a withdrawal from the U.S. role as mediator in foreign conflicts.
Trump and Vance both explained that the U.S. is willing to abandon even the attempt to mediate a ceasefire in the Ukraine-Russia conflict if the two sides are not willing to hold direct talks.
India said Thursday evening that it had foiled missile and drone attacks launched by Pakistan in what would mark the latest round of clashes between the two countries.
Indian missile strikes against Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday killed 31 people. India claimed to have targeted “terrorist infrastructure,” while Pakistan denied that such groups were operating in the areas hit by the missiles.
While Vance signaled the United States’ continued intention to take a reduced role in mediating conflicts abroad, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with leaders of both countries and called for an “immediate de-escalation” of the fighting.
