US will not strengthen Pakistan ties at India's expense, says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

The United States has made it clear that its efforts to deepen engagement with Pakistan will not come at the cost of its long-standing partnership with India. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters aboard his flight to Doha on Saturday, October 25, said Washington’s renewed outreach to Islamabad would be guided by strategic interests but not at the expense of New Delhi.

According to the US Department of State’s official transcript of Rubio’s remarks to the press, the Secretary underlined that India remains a key partner in America’s foreign policy. “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.

India’s concerns ‘understood’, says US

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Rubio acknowledged that New Delhi had concerns about Washington’s renewed warmth towards Pakistan, especially amid the Trump administration’s new trade and investment initiatives with Islamabad. However, he said India had responded with diplomatic maturity.

“We know they’re concerned for obvious reasons because of the tensions that have existed between Pakistan and India historically,” Rubio said. “But the Indians are very mature when it comes to diplomacy. They have relationships with countries that we don’t, and vice versa. It’s part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy.”

Rubio’s remarks came ahead of his meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday, October 27, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, where both sides are expected to discuss trade, tariffs, and energy security.

Trade, tariffs and oil diversification on agenda

The US Secretary confirmed that trade issues would figure prominently in talks with India, which has faced up to 50 per cent tariffs on exports to the US - half of which are described by Washington as linked to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.

Rubio said the two sides were working through trade differences but maintained that India would continue to be a trusted ally. “They’ll always be our allies and friends,” he told reporters, adding that New Delhi had shown interest in diversifying crude oil imports and increasing purchases from the US.

“The more we sell them, the less they’ll buy from someone else,” he said, referring indirectly to India’s imports of Russian oil - a key sticking point between New Delhi and Washington since the war in Ukraine began.

Washington’s balancing act in South Asia

Rubio’s clarification follows a series of recent moves by the US to rebuild ties with Pakistan, including agreements on critical mineral mining and oil exploration, and a $500 million investment memorandum signed between US Strategic Metals (USSM) and Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).

President Donald Trump has also praised Pakistan’s leadership, calling Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir “great people”. The shift has fuelled speculation of a renewed tilt towards Islamabad, which some in New Delhi view with unease.

However, Rubio insisted that engagement with Pakistan was not meant to undercut India’s strategic importance. “Our job is to create opportunities for partnerships with countries where it’s possible,” he said. “We’ve had a long history of partnering with Pakistan on counterterrorism, and we’d like to expand that if possible.”

Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked earlier this year after India’s Operation Sindoor targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The operation followed a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, that killed 26 people.

Both sides later agreed to halt full-scale hostilities after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations reached out to his Indian counterpart. President Trump later claimed credit for brokering the truce - a claim New Delhi firmly denied but one that Islamabad publicly celebrated.

Rubio’s remarks appear aimed at reaffirming India’s central role in US strategy even as Washington seeks to manage multiple partnerships across South Asia.

Jaishankar-Rubio meeting to shape next steps

Rubio is scheduled to meet Jaishankar in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, where discussions are expected to cover not just trade and oil but also regional security, technology cooperation, and ongoing US efforts to stabilise conflicts in West Asia.