Washington DC [US], May 14 (ANI): US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity aboard Air Force One, claimed that he convinced India and Pakistan to opt for peace and engage in trade deals. Trump highlighted that trade agreements are “much better” than nuclear confrontations.
“I think we convinced them (India and Pakistan) to let’s have peace and let’s go and make trade deals. If we can make trade deals, we like that much better than nuclear weapons, and that was a good thing,” Trump stated. His remarks came in response to a question from Hannity, who listed recent accomplishments of American foreign policy.
Trump further added, “I don’t think there has been a period like this, with a potential nuclear war and two countries. They have very good leaders, people I know very well. It was a very important process we got involved with India and Pakistan.”
However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India clarified that no trade discussions took place between the two countries. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the MEA, stated that while there were conversations between Indian and US leaders about the evolving military situation during Operation Sindoor, trade was not discussed.
“From the time Operation Sindoor commenced on May 7 till the understanding on cessation of firing and 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,” Jaiswal noted.
On Monday, Trump also stated that his administration played a key role in brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, preventing a potential nuclear conflict. “We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed,” he said, expressing gratitude to Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their efforts.
Trump emphasized that his administration’s involvement was crucial to de-escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. “I’m very proud to let you know that the leadership of India and Pakistan was unwavering and powerful… And we helped a lot, and we also helped with trade. I said, ‘Come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it, let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade,'” he added.
India’s precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) were conducted in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. The government had vowed that the perpetrators would face severe consequences, leading to over 100 terrorists being killed during Operation Sindoor.
After repelling Pakistan’s subsequent military aggression and targeting several airbases, India and Pakistan agreed to cease firing and military action. This understanding was reached bilaterally after Pakistan’s Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart. (ANI)
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