He said that the Americans are helping resolve the tense situation between India and Pakistan

It is time to call President Donald Trump’s bluster. The US President, for a record third time, has offered to mediate in Kashmir. At the White House, he told reporters on Wednesday that he would discuss the tense situation in Kashmir with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when they meet at the G7 Summit in France during this weekend.

He said that the Americans are helping resolve the tense situation between India and Pakistan. The development came a day after Trump spoke separately to Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan in his reported bid to ease fresh Indo-Pak tensions after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

The manner of the US President’s statement reflected typical American-Speak. Trump said that there are “tremendous problems” between the two countries and offered to mediate – not so humbly. “I will do the best I can to mediate…I have a great relationship with both of them, but they (India and Pakistan) are not exactly friends at this moment,” he said in a throwaway line, as if discussing the latest Hollywood release at some Manhattan theatre.

Particularly objectionable were his views that all the troubles in Kashmir were linked to religion and deteriorating Hindu-Muslim ties and that talks on this subject had been going on for “hundreds of years”. That Trump is not the typical politician, who chooses his words carefully, has now been proved beyond any reasonable doubt. But his insistence on intervening in an area, of which he has little or no knowledge, is inexplicable.

Even more inexplicable is his propensity to take back what he has said with a casual approach, which is breathtaking in its sweep. Early last week, the Indian envoy to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla quoted Trump as making it clear that his offer of mediation on Kashmir is “not on the table anymore.” The top Indian diplomat said that America’s decades-old policy on Kashmir has been no mediation but to encourage India and Pakistan to resolve their differences bilaterally.

He said that the US President’s offer to mediate is dependent on both India and Pakistan accepting it. Since India has not accepted the offer of mediation, he has made it clear that this is not on the table anymore. In a July 22 joint media appearance with the visiting Pakistan premier, the US President had stunned India by saying that Modi had sought his arbitration on Kashmir.

New Delhi has asserted more than once that no such request was made by Modi. A confirmation came through the minutes of Trump-Modi meeting, which revealed that Kashmir was not even discussed. Despite the denials and confirmations, a week later, Trump again said he would “certainly intervene” between India and Pakistan on Kashmir if they wanted him to.

Maybe, the Indian Prime Minister should use this weekend’s G7 summit to put the record straight once and for all - even though that is no guarantee against another Trump-speak. Maybe, India just needs to take the voluble American President it in its stride. After all, if India has rejected intervention, there is no way Washington can intercede.