RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 10: Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan called his Indian and Pakistani counterparts on Sunday to offer the kingdom's services as a mediator between the two nuclear-armed states.
"During the telephone calls, discussions focused on efforts to put an end to the ongoing military clashes," the Saudi minister said in a statement.
He underlined the "kingdom's commitment to regional security and stability, and its close and balanced relations with the two friendly countries".
Riyadh had already sought to defuse rising tensions in the run-up to this week's clashes, announcing on April 25 that it had "taken steps to avoid an escalation".
This week's clashes, involving fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery, are the worst in decades and have killed more than 60 civilians.
Pakistan launched counterattacks against India Saturday after three of its air bases were struck overnight.
The fighting was touched off by an attack last month in the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir that killed 26 tourists, mostly Hindu men, and which Delhi blamed on Islamabad.
India accused the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba -- a UN-designated terrorist organisation -- of carrying out the attack, but Islamabad has denied any involvement and called for an independent probe.
The countries have fought several wars over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both claim in full but have administered separate portions of since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.
Saudi Arabia has adopted an increasingly high profile on the world diplomatic stage, hosting talks between Moscow and Washington in February on repairing relations shattered by Russia's war on Ukraine as well as talks between the warring parties in Sudan.
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