Modi, Trump talk for 30 minutes, discuss Pakistan's anti-India rhetoric

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke with US President Donald Trump on phone and conveyed that "extreme rhetoric and incitement to anti-India violence by certain leaders in the region was not conducive to peace," in an obvious reference to the Pakistani leadership spewing anti-India venom over the Kashmir issue.

Days after the UN Security Council backed India in its efforts to bring in development in Kashmir after revoking its special status, Modi held a 30-minute call with Trump on Monday.

During the call, the two leaders covered bilateral and regional matters. The phone call was marked by the warmth and cordiality which characterises the relations between the two leaders, an MEA statement said.

The prime minister recalled their meeting in Japan's Osaka on the margins of G-20 summit in end-June earlier this year.

Referring to their bilateral discussions in Osaka, he expressed the hope that the Commerce Minister of India and the US Trade Representative would meet at an early date to discuss bilateral trade prospects for mutual benefit.

In the context of the regional situation, Modi told Trump that the extreme rhetoric and incitement to anti-India violence by certain leaders in the region was not conducive to peace.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been regularly taking to Twitter to attack Modi, calling him a fascist and racist.

Imran Khan has also been alleging that Modi is turning India into a Hindu supremacist country, and that Muslims in India were being disenfranchised and "RSS goons were on the rampage."

In his telephone call, PM Modi highlighted the importance of creating an environment free from terror and violence and eschewing cross-border terrorism without exception, the statement said.

Modi reiterated India's commitment to cooperate with anyone who followed this path, in fighting poverty, illiteracy and disease.

Recalling that Monday marked 100 years of the Independence of Afghanistan, he reiterated India's longstanding and unwavering commitment to work for a united, secure, democratic and truly independent Afghanistan, the statement said.

Indo-Asian News Service