US President Donald Trump repeated his offer to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir for the second time in less than a fortnight, prompting foreign minister S. Jaishankar to tell secretary of state Mike Pompeo in no uncertain terms that it was a bilateral issue.

“Have conveyed to American counterpart @SecPompeo this morning in clear terms that any discussion on Kashmir, if at all warranted, will only be with Pakistan and only bilaterally,” Jaishankar tweeted early in the day soon after Trump repeated his offer on Thursday.

Pompeo and Jaishankar met in Thailand at the Asean foreign ministers meeting.

Last week, Trump had kicked up a storm by stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him if he would like to mediate on Kashmir. India had emphatically and repeatedly denied Trump’s claim.

On Thursday, Trump said in Washington: “It’s really up to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi (to accept the offer of mediation).”

“Have they accepted the offer or not?” Trump asked rhetorically when a reporter questioned him about India’s rejection of his mediation offer earlier.

“I think they are fantastic people – (Pakistan Prime Minister Imran) Khan and Modi -- I mean. I would imagine they could get along very well, but if they wanted somebody to intervene, to help them…. and I spoke with Pakistan about that and I spoke frankly in India about it,” Trump said. “If I can, if they wanted me to, I would certainly intervene.”