New Delhi, April 22 : Argentina's Ambassador to India, Mariano Caucino on Wednesday paid tribute to the victims of Pahalgam terror attack, expressing his country's support to India in its right to defend itself.

India is on Wednesday observing one year of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, in which Pakistan-backed terrorists gunned down 26 innocent tourists after identifying their religion, in one of the most brutal incidents targetting civilians in recent years.

In an interview with IANS, Caucino said, "One year after this terrible terrorist attack, we want to commemorate the day and pay tribute to those who were lost, to their families, to their loved ones and absolutely condemn terror and all forms of terrorism. The Argentine government has been so emphatic on this, supporting India in its right to defend itself and its people. So, we are supporting the government of India and we know what terrorism is."

The attack in Pahalgam was carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. The attackers singled out victims after asking about their religion, forcing them to recite the Islamic 'kalima' to identify non-Muslims. Among those killed were 25 tourists and one local pony ride operator who tried to save the tourists.

When asked whether peace talks between the US and Iran will lead to any conclusion, Caucino responded, "We hope, of course, everybody wants this war to be concluded and this conflict to be in a way solved. It's not so easy. In the Middle East, there are a number of conflicts, this is one of them. But we hope there are peace efforts on the way and we hope this brings stability to the world and to the world economy. And, of course, we are supporting the operation in the sense that some countries are promoting terrorism and that is not acceptable."

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump unilaterally extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, hours before it was to expire, even though Tehran refused to attend a second round of talks that Trump had said were imminent.

Ambassador Caucino stressed that oil is still important in the world and will continue to be a geopolitical factor for the next few decades.

"I think geopolitically, the truth is that oil is still important in this world. Although there are numerous countries, including mine, that have a huge reserve of energy, for example, gas in the case of Argentina, but it's a world in which we are still dependent on these types of energy resources. So, I think, although I'm not an expert on energy, I think for a while it will continue being a geopolitical factor, maybe for the time we are going to be alive for the next few decades. So I think it's still a major issue on the global stage."

He praised India's decision to diversify energy resources and said that Argentina can provide energy security to New Delhi.

"Everybody is trying to diversify the energy resources or the energy provisions. I think that's a natural course that every country is trying to do. In the case of India, you are following a strategy of diversifying your energy resources provisions. Argentina has already been doing work in that sense, especially since last month, since this disruption emerged. We think that it is wise from Indian side to diversify and Argentina is a country that can not only provide food security to India but also energy security."

/IANS