Trump speaks without applying mind: Former Indian diplomat

Former diplomat J K Tripathi says Trump's Kashmir remark may damage diplomacy. It was done in a bid to build his own image for the next elections.

New Delhi: Accusing US President Donald Trump of "speaking without thinking", former diplomat J K Tripathi, refering to his mediation remark on Kashmir, said the former was damaging diplomacy in a bid to build his own image for the next elections.

Talking to the ETV Bharat here, Tripathi said: "Donald Trump is infamous for saying things without thinking".

Earlier in the day in Washington DC while interacting with Pakistani Prime Minister, Trump had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had requested him to mediate to resolve the Kashmir problem between India and Pakistan.

The claim that has been denied categorically by India with External Affair Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar making a formal statement in the Upper House of the Parliament.

"Trump met Modi at the G20 in Osaka. Before that, Prime Minister Modi did not have any meeting with him," Tripathi said.

When asked if the US President has crossed the line by making such remarks, the former diplomat said: "He hardly cares about it. There is a reason why he made such a remark? Trump is planning to contest the election again in 2020".

Trump is trying to project himself as a world leader now, he added.