Washington DC [US], May 17 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has taken credit for the recent understanding reached between India and Pakistan regarding the cessation of hostilities, attributing it to his use of trade as a tool for peace. Speaking to Fox News’s Bret Baier, Trump stated that he intervened when the nuclear-armed neighbors were on the brink of a conflict that could have escalated dangerously.
During the interview, Baier acknowledged Trump’s “foreign policy successes” and mentioned the president’s phone calls to both India and Pakistan, which reportedly helped de-escalate tensions. Trump responded by calling the resolution “a bigger success than I’ll ever be given credit for,” emphasizing the potential for a nuclear conflict between the two countries.
“Those are major nuclear powers… and they were angry,” Trump said. He described the situation as one where the next steps could have involved a “tit-for-tat” escalation, leading to the use of nuclear weapons. “It’s the N-word. That’s a very nasty word in a lot of ways. The N-word used in a nuclear sense, that’s the worst thing that can happen, and I think they were very close,” Trump remarked.
Trump explained that he used trade as a means to ease the situation. “We’re going to talk about trade. We’re going to do a lot of trade… I’m using trade to settle scores and to make peace,” he said, highlighting his strategy of leveraging economic discussions to prevent conflict.
The cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan followed heightened tensions after India’s Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, which targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in retaliation for a terror attack in Pahalgam on May 5. An understanding was reached on May 10, which Trump praised as a critical move to avert a potential nuclear confrontation.
Trump had previously expressed relief over the de-escalation, stating that millions of lives could have been lost if the situation had not been defused. The US President’s comments underscore his continued efforts to position trade as a diplomatic tool in foreign policy. (ANI)
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