The US on Wednesday said that there can be no military solution to the Afghan conflict and India has and will continue to make vital contributions to Afghanistan's stability and development as a leader and a critical American partner in the region.
The clear assertion was made by visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar after the two sides held extensive discussions on the evolving situation in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban making rapid advances across the country.
Blinken, the third senior member of the Biden administration to visit India this year, arrived in the national capital on Tuesday evening on a two-day visit in the midst of a deteriorating security scenario in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American troops.
The US Secretary of State said that ultimately the peace process in Afghanistan has to be "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned", a position that has been pushed by India consistently for the last several years.