Marco Rubio also pointed to US President Donald Trump's remarks stating the United Nations was “not living up to its potential”.

Published on: Sep 23, 2026, 22:22:25 IST

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United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said the international system which exists is “broken”, and therefore could fail to address potential conflicts, citing India and Pakistan in this context.

He pointed to US President Donald Trump's remarks of the United Nations “not living up to its potential”, while adding that it “would be great” if there was a “functional international system” to deal with conflicts, news agency PTI reported.

“It would be great if we had a functional international system, for example, that could deal with a war between Thailand and Cambodia that occurred, or a potential conflict between India and Pakistan…Right now, we don't seem to have a functional international system that can address it,” the top US diplomat said.

Rubio's remarks come a day after Trump repeated his claim that he stopped India and Pakistan from going into a full-fledged war in May 2025, something which has consistently been rejected by New Delhi.

‘International system failing because it has grown beyond its mandate’: Rubio

Rubio spoke about the “utility” of the international system at present, saying it was visible to all. “We're here…I think the President has said that the United Nations, for example, has tremendous potential, but it's not living up to it…” Rubio told reporters in New York.

“I think multiple leaders…pointed to the fact that the international system is failing, and it's failing because it has grown beyond its mandate,” the US Secretary of State said, according to PTI. Rubio further said the system had “grown beyond its intent.”

“It's involved in all kinds of things that shouldn't be involved in, and it's unable to solve virtually any major conflict in the world,” Rubio added. He said there was consensus at the UN General Assembly on the point of view that the international system was “broken.” “But it's broken because it broke itself. It needs to be brought back to its proper focus and its proper role,” Rubio stated.

Rubio also said that the US would eventually “always act in the national interest of our country, not in the interest of the international order.”

What did Trump say at the UNGA?

Trump on Tuesday reiterated his claim that he stopped the conflict between India and Pakistan last year. He made the remarks at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he defended the war with Iran and repeated his claim that he ended eight wars in his second term as US President.

“The Prime Minister of Pakistan, a terrific man, said that Donald Trump was responsible for saving 30 million lives, and probably many more than that,” Trump said at UNGA. The US President further claimed that leaders of the countries, where he intervened to end conflicts, wrote him a letter to express gratitude.

The military escalation between India and Pakistan came after the Pahalgam terror attack in April, 2025, in which 26 civilians were killed. Following this, India had launched strikes against terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under ‘Operation Sindoor.’

Trump has, several times in the past, claimed that he brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan after the military escalation in May 2025. India has consistently denied the claim and maintained that the ceasefire was agreed upon mutually between India and Pakistan, and rejected claims of any third-party intervention in the matter.

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