External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday said India was prepared for talks with Pakistan before or after the general elections in the neighbouring country scheduled for July provided Islamabad stopped aiding and abetting terrorism on the Indian soil.

‘’Elections have nothing to do with talks. We are ready for talks…we never said we will not talk. But there is a caveat: terror and talks cannot go together,’’ she said addressing a press conference to highlight the achievements of the Narendra Modi government on the foreign policy front on completion of four years’ in office. When people were dying on the border, how could one think of talks, she wondered.

But there were certain mechanisms between the two countries which were still active, Swaraj said, referring to the ongoing talks between coast guards of the two countries on maritime issues. Similarly, National Security Advisors (NSAs) of the two countries were in touch regularly, she said, adding. ‘’talks on terrorism could always be held’’.

She denied that there was any ‘flip-flop’ in India’s policy on Pakistan. She said India had succeeded in isolating Pakistan globally on the issue of terrorism

On Pakistan’s 21 May order to integrate Gilgit-Baltistan with the rest of the country’s federal structure, Swaraj said India had already lodged a protest on Sunday. “The answer we got (from Islamabad) in response to what happened with Gilgit Baltistan Order was laughable. They tried to teach us history. Pakistan always distorts history and doesn’t believe in law. Only thing I felt while reading their answer was, ‘look who’s talking’.”

Talking about relations with China, the minister referred to the recent informal summit between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying it had helped the two countries to strengthen bonds of friendship. She disputed a suggestion that China was trying to change the status quo at Doklam, which was the scene of a bitter stand-off between India and Chinese troops last summer. ‘’I reiterate that there is no change whatsoever in the status quo at Doklam.’’

Asked about the possible repercussions on Indian techies of H-1B visa restrictions proposed by the Donald Trump administration, Swaraj said India had taken up the issue with the authorities in Washington at different levels to protect the interests of the Indians there. ‘’We are trying to protect our people but the US is a sovereign country which takes its own decisions,’’ she added.

Asked how American sanctions on Iran and Venezuela could affect India’s economic ties with these two nations, especially in oil imports, the minister said India had made it abundantly clear that it would only abide by UN sanctions and not country-specific sanctions.

She said India had not received any proposal to play the role of a mediator between the US and North Korea for bringing them to the negotiating table. ‘’Neither has anybody asked us to play the role of a mediator nor do we propose to do so,’’ she said.