The violent crisis between India and Pakistan is exactly the kind of international emergency that would once have prompted a full-on US diplomatic drive to cool tempers and head off a wider war.

President Trump said Wednesday he hopes the India and Pakistan's clashes end soon and offered to help mediate between the two sides. The big picture: Tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations over the disputed Kashmir region they both claim fully belongs to them are at their highest level for six years.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Washington's partner India and U.S. ally Pakistan have "gone tit-for-tat," and that he hoped the two nuclear-armed Asian neighbors could stop further escalations.