US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at a joint press conference with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said that he has responsibilities towards Pakistan in the maintenance and maintenance of the existing F-16 fleets and that Pakistan’s fight against terrorism is in everyone’s interest.
The response to the Indian administration’s objection to Washington’s sale of a new F-16 modernization package to Pakistan came from US Secretary of State Blinken.
Blinken, who held a joint press conference after meeting with his Indian counterpart at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the depth of India-US relations.
Asked by an Indian journalist about the US sale of a new F-16 modernization package to Pakistan, Blinken replied:
“To be clear with the F-16, this is important. This sale is a program for the maintenance of Pakistan’s long-held F-16s. These are not new aircraft, systems or weapons. It will maintain its existing aircraft. This is against every country we sell weapons to. “We are responsible for the maintenance and maintenance of weapons. This is our responsibility. The Pakistani program will increase its ability to combat the terrorist threat emanating from the region or Pakistan. It is not in anyone’s interest for the terrorist threat to continue without a fight. Therefore, this capability of Pakistan is in the interests of all of us in the fight against terrorism.”
Emphasizing that the maintenance of these planes will be important for Pakistan, especially in the fight against DAESH-K and other al-Qaeda extensions, Blinken said, “I think the threats are well known and clear by everyone.” said.
Blinken stated that they will continue to say that India and Pakistan should resolve their disagreements through dialogue and diplomacy.
When asked about Pakistan’s response to the US recommendation within the scope of improving relations with India, Blinken said that he would not give details about his meeting with the Pakistani Foreign Minister.
-INDIA WILL CONTINUE TO BUY WEAPONS FROM RUSSIA
Jaishankar stated that the talks focused on strengthening bilateral relations.
Pointing out that he shared his deep concerns with Blinken, especially on fuel, food and fertilizer, Jaishankar said that they also discussed the US’s global price limitation on Russian energy exports.
The Indian Minister said that they will look and evaluate how the US price cap will affect India and expressed his concerns to Blinken about how the energy security needs that will arise as a result will be met.
Responding to a question about India’s continued purchase of weapons from Russia, Jaishankar said, “I don’t think we have encountered any problems in the last months in terms of service and spare parts supply for the equipment we bought from Russia in the past. It is not a matter of where we get our military equipment and platforms. To be honest. “If necessary, this is not something that will particularly change due to new or geopolitical tensions. We look at the options in the world. We look at the quality of the technology, the quality of the capability, the conditions under which that equipment is offered, and we make a choice that we believe is in our national interest.” said.
Pointing out that they also bought weapons systems from the USA, France and Israel, Jaishankar said, “So we have a tradition of using multiple sources and the main issue for us is how to get the most appropriate deal from a competitive situation.” used the phrase.