'Not At India's Expense': Marco Rubio's Big Remark On US-Pakistan Relationship

Last Updated:October 26, 2025, 17:25 IST

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington's efforts to strengthen its relationship with Pakistan would not come at the expense of its "good" friendship with India.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Reuters Image)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that the US efforts to strengthen its relationship with Pakistan would not come at the expense of its “deep, historic and important" friendship with India.

Speaking to the press en route to Qatar, Rubio addressed concerns over growing US-Pakistan ties. “We see an opportunity to expand our strategic relationship with Pakistan, and I think we’ve made – that’s our job, is to try to figure out how many countries we can find how we can work with on things of common interest. So, I think the Indians are very mature when it comes to diplomacy and things of that nature."

“I don’t think anything we’re doing with Pakistan comes at the expense of our relationship or friendship with India, which is deep, historic, and important," he said.

Responding to a question on whether US-Pakistan ties had grown based on Islamabad’s recognition of US President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claim of mediating a ceasefire, Rubio said he had reached out to both sides and said the US was interested in rebuilding a strategic partnership with both countries.

‘Fully Aware Of Challenges With India’

“We’re fully aware of the challenges with regards to India and everything else, but our job is to try to create opportunities for partnerships with countries where it’s possible. And we’ve had a long history of partnering with Pakistan on counterterror and things of that nature."

“We’d like to expand it beyond that, if possible, and understanding that there’ll be some difficulties and some challenges. But I think it’s a very encouraging thing that that relationship has strengthened the way that it has, and I don’t think it comes at the expense or instead of a good relationship with India, or anybody else for that matter," he added.

This came amid concerns of Washington’s diplomatic approach towards Pakistan in the aftermath of the India-Pakistan conflict in May. Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir recently held a series of meetings with Trump and senior defence officials.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he used trade as a bargaining chip to secure a peace deal between the two sides, a claim rejected by India. Pakistan, instead, hailed Trump’s intervention and nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize at the time.

US On India’s Russian Oil Purchase

Relations between India and the US have been strained by Trump’s tariffs on Indian goods, including 25% over New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil. The US has demanded that India halt purchases from Russian energy, saying it is financing Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Rubio, who is expected to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday at the ASEAN Summit, acknowledged trade issues with India but said the two countries will always be allies and friends. He also repeated Trump’s claim that India has expressed an interest in diversifying their oil portfolio from Russia, which had been a cause of strain between India-US trade relations.

“India only needs so much oil. So, if they diversified their portfolio, the more they buy it from us, the more they’ll buy it from someone else," he said.

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