'US keeps an eye on India, Pak every single day': Marco Rubio says ceasefire 'difficult to sustain'

Washington is monitoring the India-Pakistan situation “every single day,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, backing President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of having averted a potential nuclear escalation between the two South Asian rivals.

In an interview with NBC News, Rubio said ceasefires are difficult to sustain and can fall apart quickly. “One of the complications of ceasefires is maintaining them, which is very difficult. Every single day, we are keeping an eye on what is happening between Pakistan and India,” he said.

Rubio’s remarks come as Trump continues to tout his role in halting cross-border hostilities earlier this year. On May 10, Trump announced a “full and immediate” ceasefire between India and Pakistan, claiming it followed an intense round of U.S.-led talks. Since then, he has repeatedly said he “helped settle” the conflict and even linked peace to expanded trade, saying he told both nations the U.S. would “do a lot of trade” if the fighting stopped.

India has consistently rejected the claim of third-party intervention. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told Parliament that no foreign leader advised India to halt Operation Sindoor. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has also said the ceasefire was not tied to trade and was initiated after Pakistan “suffered heavy damage” and requested de-escalation.

Rubio reiterated Trump’s peace-first posture, saying the administration has prioritized diplomacy worldwide. “We’ve seen it in Cambodia and Thailand. We’ve seen it in India-Pakistan. We’ve seen it in Rwanda and the DRC,” Rubio said on Fox Business. “We should be thankful to have a President who has made peace a priority.”

Still, Trump's narrative has found an eager audience in Islamabad. Pakistan has credited the U.S. for the ceasefire, with Army Chief Asim Munir visiting Washington twice since May. The Biden administration, which has otherwise distanced itself from Trump's claims, has announced an oil deal with Pakistan amid warming bilateral ties.

On Friday, just hours before his summit with Vladimir Putin, Trump again credited himself for stopping what he called a near-nuclear standoff. “They were shooting down aeroplanes already,” he said. “That would have been maybe nuclear... and I was able to get it done.”