Washington, DC [US] August 18 : Washington continues to keep a close watch on developments between India and Pakistan "every single day", US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday (local time) days after US President Donald Trump once again claimed that he had brokered a ceasefire between the two countries.
Rubio's comments came in response to a question in an interview to NBC News Meet The Press on the sharp rise in Russian attacks on Ukraine after Trump assumed charge at 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 complications about ceasefires is they have to be maintained, which is very difficult. I mean, every single day we keep an eye on what's happening between Pakistan and India, what's happening between Cambodia and Thailand. Ceasefires can fall apart very quickly, especially after a three-and-a-half-year war like what we're facing now," Rubio said.
His remarks came days after Trump again claimed that he had "brokered a ceasefire deal" between India and Pakistan. It was around the 40th such assertion made by Trump, which New Delhi has consistently refuted, reiterating that all matters with Pakistan are strictly bilateral.
On being asked why the Trump administration had not imposed fresh sanctions on Russia despite repeated threats from Trump, Rubio said, "Every single sanction that was in place on the day he took over remain. Every - and the impact of all those sanctions remain. When the Russians landed in Alaska, they tried - they were there to refuel. They had to offer to pay in cash to refuel their airplanes because they can't use our banking system. They face consequences every single day. But the bottom line is that that has not altered the direction of this war. That doesn't mean those sanctions are inappropriate. It means it hasn't altered the outcome of it."
"And the minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to the table, will be severely diminished, " he further added.
Meanwhile, ties between Washington and New Delhi faced fresh strain on the trade front. Government sources confirmed that the US team would not travel to India for the sixth round of bilateral trade negotiations scheduled for August 25.
"US Trade team not coming to India for the next round of trade negotiations. The US team was scheduled to visit India on 25th August for the 6th round of negotiations," a source told ANI. The fifth round of talks was held in Washington DC from July 14-18, 2025.
The setback comes just days after Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, raising the total levy to 50 per cent, along with an unspecified penalty for India's continued oil imports from Russia.
"India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big 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 said in a recent post.
In an interview with CNBC, the US President accused India of "fueling the war machine" by continuing Russian oil purchases.