In a recent interview aboard Air Force One, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed his administration played a pivotal role in convincing India and Pakistan to step back from the brink of conflict and instead pursue peace and trade.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump said, “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.” He emphasized that both countries have “very good leaders” and praised their cooperation during what he called a potentially catastrophic standoff.
Trump’s remarks came in response to a question about recent successes in American foreign policy. He also asserted that his administration helped broker an “immediate cessation of hostilities” between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, referencing the aftermath of India’s Operation Sindoor, which targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack.
However, India promptly dismissed Trump’s assertion about trade talks. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified on Tuesday that while there were discussions with U.S. officials regarding the evolving military situation, trade was not part of those conversations.
“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 U.S. leaders. The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions,” Jaiswal said.
Despite Trump’s insistence that he tied future trade deals to peace efforts, Indian officials emphasized that the ceasefire understanding was reached bilaterally, with Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reaching out to his Indian counterpart to initiate the dialogue.
Operation Sindoor, launched in retaliation for a terror attack that killed 26 civilians, resulted in the deaths of over 100 terrorists and strikes on multiple airbases in Pakistan. Tensions escalated briefly, with cross-border shelling and drone activity, before both nations agreed to de-escalate.
While Trump hailed the de-escalation as a “huge success” for his foreign policy, India has maintained that it managed the crisis independently, with no trade incentives involved in the ceasefire talks.