Rubio urges India and Pakistan to de-escalate, backs direct dialogue

By Simon Lewis and Ismail Shakil

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged de-escalation and expressed enactment for nonstop dialog successful abstracted calls with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif connected Thursday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

Fears person grown that the worst confrontation successful 2 decades successful the struggle betwixt the nuclear-armed neighbors could escalate aft India connected Wednesday struck what it said was "terrorist infrastructure" successful Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir successful retaliation for a deadly onslaught successful Indian Kashmir connected April 22 that New Delhi has blamed connected Islamabad.

New blasts rang retired crossed the metropolis of Jammu successful Indian Kashmir precocious connected Thursday during what Indian subject sources said they suspected was a Pakistani drone attack.

Rubio, successful some telephone calls that took spot earlier the latest blasts, "emphasized the request for contiguous de-escalation," Bruce said successful readouts of the calls.

"He expressed U.S. enactment for nonstop dialog betwixt India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to amended communications," Bruce said.

President Donald Trump has said helium hopes the tit-for-tat strikes volition halt and said helium was consenting to help, but Washington has not offered to formally mediate to quell the tensions.

Showing the delicate balancing enactment of Rubio's diplomacy, the 2 State Department spokespersons' readouts, sent retired wrong a infinitesimal of each other, besides included tailored messages for each side.

To Jaishankar, Rubio reaffirmed his committedness to enactment with India successful the combat against terrorism, Bruce said. He expressed sorrow to Sharif for the reported nonaccomplishment of civilian lives successful the existent struggle betwixt the 2 neighboring countries, portion besides urging Pakistan to instrumentality steps to extremity enactment for violent groups, she said.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Alistair Bell)