US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that his administration brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, suggesting that he encouraged both nations to focus on trade rather than nuclear weapons. Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump stated that he told India and Pakistan to "not trade nuclear missiles (and) trade the things that you make so beautifully".
Trump asserted that his administration "successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan" and that he "used trade to a large extent to do it". He praised the leaders of both countries as "very powerful leaders, very strong leaders, good leaders, smart leaders," adding that "it all stopped". He also lauded US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and VP JD Vance for their roles in achieving the ceasefire and even suggested a dinner between the nations.
However, India has pushed back against Trump's claims. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that while there were conversations between Indian and US leaders regarding the 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 10th May, 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," the MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Trump first announced the ceasefire on May 10, stating that both countries had reached an understanding to halt military actions. He said, "We reached a historic ceasefire a few days ago—millions could have died in a conflict between India and Pakistan". He also claimed that his administration helped broker it.
In a Fox News interview, Trump claimed to have convinced India and Pakistan to pursue a peace deal, advocating for trade agreements over nuclear weapons, and asserted his administration's role in 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," Trump said.
Despite India's denial of Trump's mediation claims, he has repeatedly stated his administration's role in brokering the ceasefire and promoting trade between the two countries.