NEW DELHI, 21 OCT (DNA) — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended Washington’s decades-long ties with Pakistan, citing the importance of the country’s geographic position. Rubio made the remarks in an interview with an Indian media outlet during his three-day visit to India, his second official trip to the country this year.

Responding to a question about his views on Pakistan as a senator and now as US secretary of state, Rubio said he was responsible for managing US foreign policy. “And that does require us to have relationships with countries, including those that we may have some disagreements with,” he added.

Rubio reiterated that Washington was against terrorism anywhere in the world and anybody who sponsors terrorism. He defended Washington’s ties with Pakistan, saying the US needs to maintain a relationship with the nuclear-armed country. “It’s a country that, from a geographic standpoint, we need to be able to interact with them, in much the same way as the government of India has to have and has a relationship and meets with leaders from Iran,” he added.

“And I think in a way it could be a positive thing, because if we have a relationship and we can speak to them it could perhaps help us — help — it perhaps puts us in a position to help discourage the kinds of things that India is worried about,” he said.

 On the war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, he said that it was “very difficult to make a deal with” Tehran. However, he claimed that oil and energy shipments through the straits had reached 80% to 100% of the levels recorded before the Middle East conflict began in February. — DNA