Hours after US President Donald Trump once again offered to intervene in the Kashmir issue, India on Friday firmly stated that “any discussion on Kashmir, if at all warranted, will only be with Pakistan and only bilaterally”.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is in Bangkok to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said that he has clearly conveyed to his American counterpart Mike Pompeo that “discussion on Kashmir will only be held bilaterally with Pakistan”.

Have conveyed to American counterpart @SecPompeo this morning in clear terms that any discussion on Kashmir, if at all warranted, will only be with Pakistan and only bilaterally.

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— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 2, 2019

The assertion came hours after US President Donald Trump on Thursday raked up the Kashmir issue saying that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan want “someone to intervene in the decades-old dispute, he was ready to assist them”.

He was referring to his last week’s meeting with Khan, wherein he offered to help to resolve the Kashmir issue.

“If I can, if they wanted me to, I would certainly intervene,” Trump said.

On India rejecting the US’ mediation offer for Kashmir, he said, “It is really up to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi (to accept the offer of mediation)”.

“I think they are fantastic people – (Imran) Khan and (Narendra) Modi – I mean, I would imagine they could get along very well, but if they wanted somebody to intervene, to help them…. and I spoke with Pakistan about that and I spoke frankly in (sic) India about it,” Donald Trump said.

Last week in a stunning claim, Donald Trump had said that he was requested by Modi to act as a mediator in the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan.

Speaking to reporters before his meeting in the White House with Khan, Trump asserted that during his meeting with Modi in Osaka, “We talked about the subject, (and) he actually said, ‘Would you like to mediate or arbitrate?’ I said, ‘Where,?’ (and he said) ‘Kashmir’.”

India quickly rejected the claim saying that Modi never sought Trump’s help in the issue during their meeting at the G20 Summit in Osaka.

Under the 1972 Simla Agreement, India has time and again maintained that it will not have a third party involvement in the Kashmir issue, which it sees as a bilateral matter with Pakistan.

Jaishankar is in the Thailand capital to attend a number of conferences, including the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting, the 9th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the 26th ASEAN Regional Forum and the 10th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting.

“Held wide ranging discussions with @SecPompeo on regional issues,” Jaishankar tweeted.

He met US Secretary of State Pompeo on the sidelines of the second day of 9th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers meet in Bangkok. This was the first official meeting between the two top officials after President Trump’s controversial comments on him mediating between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue.

Jaishankar had last week, “categorically assured” the Parliament that no request was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as claimed by US President Donald Trump, to mediate in the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan.

“I would like to categorically assure the house that no such request has been made by the Prime Minister to the US President. I would also like to reiterate that it has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said in the Rajya Sabha.