Extreme rhetoric not conducive to peace: PM Modi tells Trump

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (August 19) told US President Donald Trump that extreme rhetoric and incitement to anti-India violence by certain leaders in the region was not conducive to peace.

In a telephonic conversation that lasted for 30 minutes, the two leaders spoke bilateral and regional issues, including cross-border terrorism.

The move comes in the backdrop of India abrogating the provisions of Article 370, giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories amid a lockdown in the state.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had talked to Trump following the move, and Trump had told Khan to resolve the issue bilaterally.

The government said the conversation between Modi and Trump was marked by “warmth and cordiality”.

Modi highlighted the importance of creating an environment free from terror and violence and eschewing cross-border terrorism.

Recalling that today marked the one hundred years of the Independence of Afghanistan, the Prime Minister reiterated India’s longstanding and unwavering commitment to work for united, secure, democratic and truly independent Afghanistan.