WASHINGTON, (DNA) – The United States reiterated the call for direct communication between Islamabad and New Delhi to de-escalate the situation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Deputy Spokesperson of the US State Department Robert Palladino made the comment in a press briefing on Tuesday while responding to a question regarding the Trump administration’s position in the ongoing tensions.

“The position of the United States is that we urge both sides to continue to take steps to de-escalate the situation, and that includes through direct communication.”

He stressed that the US ‘strongly’ believed that “further military activity will exacerbate the situation.”

Last week, Indian premier Narendra Modi snubbed PM Imran’s three attempts to initiate direct contact. The prime minister wanted to apprise Modi about his decision to release the captured Indian pilot and reached out three times on February 28 but received no response.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), UK and European Union (EU) have been involved in both overt and covert diplomacy to find a way out of the impasse between the two countries.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reached out Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval urged them to avoid “further military activity”.