World Capitals Urge Calm In Wave of Diplomatic Activity After India's Missile Strikes on Pakistan

New Delhi: India’s missile strikes on targets inside Pakistan early Wednesday (May 7) triggered a wave of diplomatic activity, with New Delhi moving quickly to brief key partners and major capitals urging restraint.

National security adviser Ajit Doval and external affairs minister S. Jaishankar were on the phone throughout the day, speaking with their counterparts from Washington and Beijing to Riyadh and Paris.

Despite their varying alignments, most international responses struck a common note – calling for calm, warning against further escalation and urging both sides to keep diplomatic channels open.

At 1:05 am on Wednesday, India launched multiple missiles to target “terror infrastructure” in Pakistan’s Punjab province and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, two weeks after 25 tourists and a local Kashmiri guide were killed by terrorists in Pahalgam.

Indian officials stated that immediately after ‘Operation Sindoor’ began, Doval was on the phone with senior counterparts, including US national security adviser and secretary of state Marco Rubio, the UK’s Jonathan Powell, France’s Emmanuel Bonne, Japan’s Masataka Okano and Russian national security adviser Sergei Shoigu.

Given the strategic weight of the Arab world in India’s foreign policy calculus, Doval also reached out to United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, UAE National Security Council secretary General Ali Al Shamsi and Saudi national security adviser Musaid Al Aiban.

In a significant move, Doval also spoke with China’s Wang Yi, who serves not just as his counterpart on boundary talks but also as a senior Communist Party official and foreign minister.

Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong had also been part of the cohort of Delhi-based foreign envoys who had been personally briefed by Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri after India announced punitive measures against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Indian officials said Doval conveyed that the missile strikes were “measured, non-escalatory and restrained”. “He made it clear that India does not seek escalation but is fully prepared to respond with resolve if provoked by Pakistan,” one official said.

US President Donald Trump was the first foreign leader to respond, calling the escalation “a shame”.

At the White House on Tuesday, he said, “We just heard about it as we were walking into the Oval … I guess people knew something was going to happen, based on a bit of the past. They’ve been fighting for many, many decades. And centuries, actually, if you think about it. I hope it ends very quickly.”

Notably, Trump stopped short of urging both countries to show restraint.

But a day later, Trump was more categorical when asked on Wednesday morning DC time.

“Oh, it's so terrible. My position is, I get along with both,” Fox News quoted Trump as telling reporters, adding: “I know both very well, and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop. And hopefully they can stop now. They've got a tit for tat, so hopefully they can stop now … And if I can do anything to help I will. I will be there as well.”

In contrast, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had immediately called for military restraint from both the South Asian neighbours. “The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” his spokesperson told reporters.

On his part, Rubio tweeted that he is “monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan closely” and that he echoed Trump’s comments  “that this hopefully ends quickly and will continue to engage both Indian and Pakistani leadership towards a peaceful resolution.”

Following his tweet, the State department also added that Rubio had spoken with national security advisors of India and Pakistan. “He urged both to keep lines of communication open and avoid escalation,” it tweeted.

Throughout the day, there was a cascade of statements from the major capitals, all of them urging restraint.

After strongly condemning all acts of terror, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called on India and Pakistan to “show restraint in order to prevent the further deterioration in the region”.

“We hope that differences between New Delhi and Islamabad will be settled in a peaceful manner by political and diplomatic means, based on bilateral efforts and in accordance with the provisions of the Simla Agreement (1972) and the Lahore Declaration (1999),” she added.

In Beijing, the Chinese foreign office stated that India’s “military operation was regrettable” – probably the only public expression of disapproval, albeit relatively muted, among the major capitals.

Reiterating its opposition to all forms of terrorism, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson remarked: “India and Pakistan are, and will always be, each other’s neighbours. They are also China’s neighbours.

“We urge both sides to act in the broader interest of regional peace and stability – remain calm, exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further complicate the situation,” the spokesperson added.

French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot called on “both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint to avoid escalation”. A separate statement from the French foreign ministry expressed deep concern over the situation and called for “de-escalation and the protection of civilians”.

Incidentally, India reportedly used French Rafale fighter jets to launch missiles on the targeted sites within Pakistan, underscoring France’s role as a key defence supplier.

Germany’s newly appointed foreign minister Johann Wadephul, in Paris on his first official visit, placed a joint phone call with Barrot to New Delhi. The German foreign office later posted that “responsible action” from both sides was critical, stressing that the situation “must not escalate further” and that “civilians must be protected”.

Spain’s foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares posted that he spoke with both the Indian and Pakistan foreign ministers to “promote dialogue and de-escalation between India and Pakistan”. “Peace, diplomacy and restraint must prevail,” he asserted.

Urging “immediate steps” towards de-escalation, EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said that the EU “recalls the need for a negotiated, agreed and lasting, peaceful solution to the conflict”.

UK foreign secretary David Lammy, who just a day earlier had praised the finalisation of a India-UK free trade agreement, said he had conveyed to both his Indian and Pakistani counterparts that “if this escalates further, nobody wins.”

He added: “The UK government is urging India and Pakistan to show restraint and engage in direct dialogue to find a swift, diplomatic path forward.”

In a similar vein, Japanese foreign minister Iwaya Takeshi held a 15-minute phone call with Jaishankar in the afternoon, conveying that Tokyo was “deeply concerned” that the strikes by India could lead to “further reprisals and escalate into a full-scale military conflict”.

Just like France, the UK and other countries, Japan also reiterated condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack and said it cannot be justified by any reason.

Urging a “fair investigation” and “punishment for offenders”, the Japanese foreign minister urged the two South Asian neighbours to “exercise restraint and stabilise the situation through dialogue for the peace and stability in South Asia”.

Posting about the phone call, Jaishankar only stated that he appreciated the “strong condemnation” and “discussed India’s action against the cross-border terrorist infrastructure this morning”.

Among the Gulf states, Jaishankar acknowledged a phone call from Qatar’s Prime Minister and foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to talk about the latest India-Pakistan developments.

Doha called for the two nuclear-armed countries to “exercise maximum restraint, give priority to the voice of wisdom, respect the principles of good neighborliness and resolve the crisis through diplomatic means”.

Also read: Why the Name ‘Operation Sindoor’ Must be Examined Closely

A similar message came from the United Arab Emirates, arguably India’s most significant economic partner in the region. In a statement, the UAE foreign ministry said that Deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan had called for dialogue and urged both countries to “exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions and avoid further escalation that could endanger regional and international peace”.

Saudi Arabia, the largest country in West Asia, echoed this appeal using closely aligned language. Its foreign ministry urged both sides to “reduce tension, avoid escalation and resolve differences by diplomatic means, respect the principles of good neighbourliness, and work to achieve stability and peace for the good of their people and the peoples of the region”.

Iran also weighed in, as its foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday night for a pre-scheduled visit.

Tehran called on both countries to “exercise restraint,” reiterating its “principled stance on respecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and rejecting the use of force.”

Upon his arrival in India, Araghchi – who was in Islamabad earlier this week – also reportedly sought de-escalation between the two sides, saying that “our region needs calm”.

Across the border, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed “solidarity” and conveyed that “Türkiye supports the calm and restrained policy pursued by Pakistan in this process”.

Separately, Pakistani foreign minister M. Ishaq Dar had phone calls with his Turkish counterpart and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s secretary general Hissein Brahim Taha. He also met with foreign envoys in Islamabad to share details of Pakistan’s response.

He also gave a presentation to Islamabad-based foreign ambassadors.

Earlier in the day, Misri had briefed Delhi-based ambassadors of the UN Security Council member-states, barring Pakistan, on the strikes carried out on the morning of May 7.

According to sources, a senior British diplomat at the meeting noted that one of the strikes appeared to have hit a mosque located within the targeted camp.

Indian officials reportedly responded that the complex was being used to support terror activities aimed at India.

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