Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has said that Saudi Arabia is ready for mediation between India and Pakistan, but the timing will be decided by both countries.
The Saudi foreign minister said this in an interview with India's The Hindu newspaper.
India and Pakistan are nuclear-armed neighbors and both control parts of the disputed Kashmir region, but they both claim the entire state.
Asked if Saudi Arabia was disappointed that talks between Pakistan and India had not resumed, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said: "Whenever possible we will always provide our good forums but the right time. Determination depends on India and Pakistan.
He said that as Kashmir is a contentious issue between the two countries, we would encourage attention to be paid to the path of dialogue between India and Pakistan so that these issues can be resolved in a way that These issues can be resolved permanently.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir. Pakistan accuses India of human rights abuses in Kashmir, while India says it supports militants in its part of Kashmir. However, both countries deny each other's allegations.
In February this year, the Indian and Pakistani forces said in an extraordinary joint statement that they had agreed to a ceasefire on the border in Kashmir after hundreds of exchanges of fire in recent months.
In April, the UAE's ambassador to Washington confirmed that the UAE was mediating between India and Pakistan to help rivals establish "healthy and active" relations.
It may be recalled that in 2019, India withdrew the special status of Kashmir under its administration in order to strengthen its grip on the region, which led to outrage in Pakistan, deterioration of diplomatic relations and suspension of bilateral trade.
The Pakistani government has repeatedly said that in order to restore normal relations, it is necessary for India to take back the steps taken in 2019 first.
