Srinagar, Aug 19: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the Union Territory’s issues must be resolved by New Delhi and not Washington, ahead of the scheduled visit of US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor to Srinagar.
Gor, who also serves as the US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, is scheduled to arrive in Srinagar on Wednesday afternoon. He will stay overnight before travelling to Ladakh on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters after an early morning inspection of development projects and civic works in Srinagar, Omar said he was looking forward to meeting the US envoy and hearing his views.
“After a long time, a US ambassador is coming to Jammu and Kashmir, and I am meeting an American ambassador after a very long time. Let him come; we will talk to him,” the Chief Minister said.
Omar said he expected the meeting to be a two-way conversation and that he was interested in hearing what the ambassador had to say about the region.
However, he made it clear that he would not seek foreign intervention to address Jammu and Kashmir’s problems.
“Our problems have nothing to do with him. It is not my habit to complain to an ambassador from another country,” Omar said.
He stressed that the responsibility for resolving issues in Jammu and Kashmir rests with the Centre.
“Washington will not solve our problems. Our central government has to solve our problems. It would be wrong to complain to an ambassador from another country,” he said.
Omar added that while he would discuss Jammu and Kashmir and the prevailing situation with Gor, he would not seek solutions from the US envoy.
“I will talk about Jammu and Kashmir and our situation, but I will not complain. I will not try to find a solution to our problems from him,” he said.
The meeting will be significant as it is expected to be the first interaction between a serving US ambassador and a sitting chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir in more than 15 years.
Gor has previously visited several Indian states, including Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, where he held interactions with political leaders.
