India & Pakistan must solve Kashmir crisis among themselves, without 3rd party provocations – Macron

The Kashmir crisis can and must be solved bilaterally, between India and Pakistan, so any third parties seeking to interfere despite the risk of inciting more violence should stay clear, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed.

“We would like to support any policy that keeps the situation stable and free from terror,” Macron said at a joint press conference at Chateau de Chantilly on Thursday after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India and Pakistan will have to find a solution to the issue and no third party should interfere or incite violence in the region.

Tensions between the two nuclear neighbors have reached a peak this month after New Delhi revoked a constitutional provision (Article 370) that stipulated Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy over its internal administration, integrating the volatile region into the central government system.

Outraged by the move, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan reached out to the US, seeking mediation efforts from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has since repeatedly tried to play peacemaker in the Kashmir crisis, but Modi’s government has refused to accept the offer, insisting that US has no role to play in India’s internal affairs.

During Thursday’s press conference, Modi did not directly touch on the Kashmir tensions, but he did state that India, like France, remains committed to fighting terrorism.

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