United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday repeated his long-standing claim that he “stopped a war” between India and Pakistan, triggering a direct rebuttal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reaffirmed India’s consistent stand against third-party mediation.
“I stopped a war between Pakistan [and India]. I love Pakistan,” Trump told reporters. “Modi is a fantastic man. I spoke to him last night.”
The statement came shortly after Modi, in a 35-minute phone call with Trump, firmly denied any US role in mediating peace between the two South Asian nuclear powers. “India has never accepted mediation, does not accept it, and will never do so in the future,” Modi reportedly told the US President, reiterating India’s long-standing diplomatic policy.
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During the same interaction with reporters, Trump also reiterated his desire to strike a trade agreement with India. “We are going to make a trade deal with Modi of India. But I stopped a war between Pakistan and India,” he said.
Trump went on to praise Pakistan’s Army Chief Asif Munir and Prime Minister Modi, saying both leaders played crucial roles in defusing tensions.
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“This man [Munir] was extremely influential in stopping war from Pakistani side, Modi from the other side,” Trump said. “They were going at it and they are both nuclear countries… I stopped a war between two major nuclear nations but I don’t think I have a story written about it.”
Trump has made similar assertions over a dozen times in the past, each time facing pushback from Indian authorities who insist that any matters involving India and Pakistan are strictly bilateral.
The recent Modi-Trump phone conversation focused on the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, and India’s evolving counter-terrorism strategy. During the call, PM Modi also extended an invitation to Trump to attend the upcoming Quad Summit in India.
