US President Trump claimed that US intervention, leveraging trade, averted a potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan. However, India firmly denied US mediation in the ceasefire, emphasizing it was a sovereign decision. The Ministry of External Affairs refuted Trump’s assertion that trade influenced the resolution, stating Operation Sindoor was a response to terrorism, aligning with India’s doctrine.

US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) reiterated his claim that the United States mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan following heightened tensions earlier this month, this time linking the resolution to trade pressure. Trump said. “We talk trade, and we say we can’t trade with people who are shooting at each other and potentially using nuclear weapon.

They understood and they agreed, and that all stopped.”Doubling down on his earlier statements, Trump said, “I think the deal I’m most proud of is the fact that we’re dealing with India, we’re dealing with Pakistan, and we were able to stop potentially a nuclear war through trade as opposed through bullets… Normally they do it through bullets. We do it through trade. So I’m very proud of that.”

Earlier today, he further claimed that American diplomacy helped avert a nuclear conflict. “We stopped India and Pakistan from fighting. I believe that could have turned out into a nuclear disaster, and I want to thank the leaders of India and Pakistan, and I want to thank my people.”

The ministry of external affairs (MEA), however, said that the ceasefire was entirely India’s sovereign decision and not the result of external pressure from the time Trump first took credit for the same. Responding to media queries about Trump’s comments, the MEA stated, “From the time Op Sindoor started on May 7 till the understanding on cessation of military action on May 10, there were conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation.

The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions.”India also maintained its long-standing position on Pakistan-occupied territory. “That stated policy has not changed. As you are aware, the outstanding matter is the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan,” the MEA said.The government also rejected Trump’s assertion that trade was used as a tool to prevent escalation.

Stressing that India’s military response—Operation Sindoor—was in line with its doctrine of calibrated retaliation to terrorism.Trump’s latest comments are part of a series of statements in which he has attempted to portray himself as a global peacemaker, despite Indian officials and analysts repeatedly refuting such claims.