WORLD NEWS

RIYADH: Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Sunday clarified that he did not mean that Saudi Arabia should be a mediator between India and Pakistan. Earlier in the day, Tharoor reportedly said that Saudi Arabia could be a ‘valuable interlocutor’ between India and Pakistan.

Tharoor, who is accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a three-day State visit to Saudi Arabia, said: “We feel that Saudi Arabia of course has a long and close relationship with Pakistan but that makes Saudi Arabia even a more valuable interlocutor for us.”

Shortly after making the remarks, Tharoor retracted them. “There’s no chance of my saying Saudi Arabia should be a mediator. Never said that or anything like it”, he said. Previously, Tharoor had invited controversy by making statements on social networking site Twitter about the government’s austerity measures and immigration policy.