By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US president Donald Trump on Monday has claimed he stopped a potential India-Pakistan war using tariff pressure, a claim India has denied, insisting the ceasefire followed direct military communication.
He reiterated his claim that a potential war between India and Pakistan was stopped due to his intervention.
Trump claimed that 8 aircraft were shot down during the four-day military confrontation earlier this year between the two neighboring countries.
The four-day confrontation followed Operation Sindoor, which India launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
The exchange marked one of the most serious flare-ups between the two nuclear-armed neighbors in recent years, raised international concern before the May 10 understanding came into effect.
Trump was speaking to reporters said the situation was defused before it could spiral into a nuclear conflict.
“We stopped a potential nuclear war between Pakistan and India. The Prime Minister of Pakistan said that President Trump saved 10 million lives, maybe more. Eight planes were shot down. That war was starting to rage,” Trump said.
He added that the only conflict he had not “solved” yet was the Russia–Ukraine war.
Trump has, on multiple occasions, claimed that the crisis between the two neighbors was “settled” within 24 hours after he used trade tariffs as leverage. India has consistently denied this assertion.
New Delhi has maintained that Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations reached out to his Indian counterpart after suffering significant damage, after which both sides agreed to halt all firing and military action on land, air and sea beginning May 10.
Indian officials have underlined that the cessation of hostilities was the result of direct military-to-military communication, not third-party mediation.
Trump claimed he helped avert India-Pakistan war using trade and tariff
He also addressed ongoing peace efforts related to the Russia–Ukraine war, said talks were continuing despite deep animosity between leaders.
“There is tremendous hatred between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” he said.
The discussions in Miami, Florida concluded were followed by a statement from Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff, who said Russia remained committed to achieving peace in Ukraine.
According to the statement, Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev held “productive and constructive” meetings with the American delegation, which included Witkoff, Jared Kushner and White House staff member Josh Gruenbaum.
The negotiations took place as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Washington to step up pressure on Moscow. Witkoff and Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov later described Ukraine’s meetings with American and European officials as “productive and constructive”.
A joint statement said discussions also covered further development of Trump’s proposed 20-point plan and efforts to align positions on multilateral and US-backed security guarantee frameworks for Ukraine.
