U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a working lunch alongside President Donald Trump during a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (unseen) at the Office of Government Hall in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis

(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost, after Pakistan carried out air strikes and shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday.

Those strikes came a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971.

Pompeo said in a statement he had spoken to foreign ministers from Indian and Pakistan and “encouraged both Ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity.”