‘I stopped the war between Pakistan and India’: Trump reiterates; says no one reported it
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday reiterated that he negotiated a ceasefire deal between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor — a claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly denied earlier in the day.“Well, I stopped a war between Pakistan. I love Pakistan. I think Modi is a fantastic man. I spoke to him last night. We’re going to make a trade deal with Modi of India. But I stopped the war between Pakistan and India. This man (Pakistani army chief of staff) was extremely influential in stopping it, from the Pakistan side. Modi, from the India side, others. And they were going at it. And they’re both nuclear countries. I got it stopped,” Trump told media.
“Did anybody write that story about the war? Did you write it? We wrote one. We all wrote it. Did you write it? … But that’s okay. You know why? The people know,” Trump asked reporters. Earlier today, the two leaders spoke over the phone for 35 minutes, in a conversation initiated by President Trump, according to foreign secretary Vikram Misri.“They spoke for almost 35 minutes… PM Modi spoke with President Trump in detail on Operation Sindoor,” Misri said.During the call, Prime Minister Modi made it clear that India does not view terrorism as merely a proxy war anymore. “India now regards terrorism not as proxy war but actual war,” PM Modi told Trump, according to the official readout.Trump also conveyed his condolences over the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. He had previously expressed support for India’s fight against terrorism in a separate conversation shortly after the attack.Misri added that the ceasefire deal with Pakistan was signed at Islamabad’s request. “This was the first time they were speaking after that. PM Modi told the US President that the ceasefire deal with Pakistan after Operation Sindoor was signed at the request of Islamabad,” he said.The leaders were initially expected to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada, but the meeting was cancelled after President Trump cut short his visit and returned to the US early.Looking ahead, Prime Minister Modi invited Trump to India for the next Quad summit. “For the next meeting of Quad, PM Modi invited President Trump to India. While accepting the invitation, President Trump said that he is excited to come to India,” Misri said.Misri also confirmed that Trump reiterated strong US support for India’s ongoing counterterrorism efforts.
