No condemnation of Pak for brutal killing of Indian soldiers, US wants tensions to de-escalate

Concerned over the rise in tension between India and Pakistan over the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers, the US said it has been counselling both governments to de-escalate the situation and has instructed its envoys there to work in this direction.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "talked to our South Asia people" about it on Tuesday and yesterday, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters. "She has instructed our Ambassadors to work with those governments, which they are doing."

"There were calls made at the ambassadorial level in both countries," Nuland said, as she urged for calm between the two countries.

"We are concerned about reports of violence along the Line of Control in Kashmir. It's our understanding that the governments of India and Pakistan are now talking and trying to work through these issues at a high level," Nuland said.

The United States is urging both sides to take steps to end the violence, she said.

"We continue to strongly support any efforts to improve relations between the two countries. We've also discussed these latest incidents with both governments, urged them to talk to each other and urged calm," she said.

The US is counseling both countries to work to de-escalate tension, Nuland said.

"We have been counseling both governments to de-escalate, to work through this issue, to continue the consultations between them at a high level that we understand are ongoing now. Violence is not the answer for either country," she said.

Responding to a question, Nuland said that the US favours that the two countries should talk to each other to resolve their issues.

"Our view is that India and Pakistan have made pretty good progress in recent years, in working through a number of difficult issues, including opening of the trade relations, etc, that they are now engaged at a high level on these recent incidents," Nuland said.

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