Washington

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that the US always encourages its friends India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through diplomacy and dialogue.

Speaking to mediapersons Blinken said, "We always encourage our friends to resolve their differences through diplomacy, through dialogue. That hasn't changed. It won't change."

Blinken met with India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Washington. A day before, Blinken held separate talks with his counterpart from Pakistan.

Blinken on Monday said he had discussed with his Pakistani counterpart what he called managing a responsible relationship with India.

"In our discussions today, we talked about the importance of managing a responsible relationship with India," Blinken said after meeting Zardari, without elaborating.

Blinken also noted that India and the United States have made real progress in elevating their partnership through institutions like QUAD and G20.

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Notably, India will take over the presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) in December.