PM Modi, Trump may discuss Kashmir, human rights issue during G-7 Summit in France

New Delhi, Aug 23: US President Donald Trump plans to hold discussions on Kashmir and human rights with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend at the G7 summit in Biarritz. The leaders will hold discussions on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit in the country, where PM Modi has been invited as a chief guest.

The meeting will be held in the wake of two recent statements by Trump to mediate talks between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

India, however, has maintained its long-held stance of bilateral talks with the neighbouring country, and that talks can't be held if Pakistan keep supporting terror groups. The two leaders are also likely to discuss wide-ranging issues of trade between India and the US.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on Trump's agenda for the upcoming summit on Saturday said the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan are expected to come up.

"President Trump will likely want to hear from Prime Minister Modi on how he plans to reduce regional tensions and uphold respect for human rights in Kashmir," the official said. After a brief conversation with Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, the US President once again offered his proposal to mediate on Kashmir, despite making it clear before that the ongoing dispute in the region should be resolved bilaterally by India and Pakistan.

This is not the first time that Trump has proposed to act as a mediator for India-Pakistan talks.

Earlier, during a meeting with Pakistan PM Imran Khan at the Oval Office in July, Trump told reporters that PM Modi sought his mediation in the Kashmir issue and that he was ready for it. In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs rejected Trump's claim that Modi ever asked for mediation on Kashmir..

India has always maintained that abrogation Article 370 is an "internal" matter of India and the dispute over Kashmir is a "bilateral" issue.