Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 11 : Expressing concern over the West Asia Conflict, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that it would "not be appropriate to assume that the crisis has completely ended" on the recently announced ceasefire deal between the US and Iran.
He added that there was a formal announcement that a ceasefire had happened, but the ground reality is different and the Centre is "continuously ensuring that there is no crisis of any kind."
Speaking on the West Asia Conflict at Gomti Nagar Jan Kalyan Mahasamiti, he said, "There has been a formal ceasefire, but given the situation on the ground, it would not be appropriate to assume that the crisis has completely ended....We have sufficient reserves to deal with any kind of crisis in the country...The government is continuously ensuring that there is no crisis of any kind, even after two to three months."
On April 8, US President Donald Trump announced a temporary halt to the "bombing and attack" campaign on Iran, proposing a two-week, double-sided ceasefire window. Trump also indicated that a 10-point proposal put forward by Iran was "workable," signalling a possible diplomatic opening between the two long-time adversaries.
Meanwhile, Trilateral ceasefire talks between the United States, Iran and Pakistan have started in Islamabad, Al Jazeera reported, noting that this is the highest-level talks between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Ahead of the talks with the United States, the Iranian negotiating team held a strategic meeting in the Pakistani capital. The delegation, which arrived in Islamabad to participate in high-stakes discussions, fine-tuned its agenda before the formal commencement of the "peace talks" with the US.