India rejects Trump's claim his trade concessions de-escalated India-Pakistan tensions
The Indian government on Tuesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 claim that he helped broker a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in exchange for trade concessions.
Addressing a weekly news conference, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesman for India鈥檚 foreign ministry, said top leaders in New Delhi and Washington were in touch last week following the Indian military鈥檚 intense standoff with Pakistan, but there was no conversation on trade.
鈥淭he issue of trade didn't not come up in any of these discussions,鈥� Jaiswal said, referring to the conversations held between U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar.
Following Saturday鈥檚 understanding reached between India and Pakistan in what was a U.S.-mediated ceasefire to stop military action on land, in the air and at sea, Trump told reporters on Monday that he offered to help both the nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate.
鈥淚 said, come on, we鈥檙e going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let鈥檚 stop it. Let鈥檚 stop it. If you stop it, we鈥檒l do a trade. If you don鈥檛 stop it, we鈥檙e not going to do any trade,鈥欌� Trump said.
鈥淎nd all of a sudden, they said, I think we鈥檙e going to stop,鈥� Trump said, crediting trade leverage for influencing both the nations鈥� decision. 鈥淔or a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one,鈥� he said.
The militaries of India and Pakistan had been engaged in one of their most serious confrontations in decades since last Wednesday, when India struck targets inside Pakistan it said were affiliated with militants responsible for the massacre of 26 tourists last month in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
After India's strikes in Pakistan, both sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other鈥檚 territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases.
The escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals threatened regional peace, leading to calls by world leaders to cool down tempers.
Trump said he not only helped mediate the ceasefire, but also offered mediation over the simmering dispute in Kashmir, a Himalayan region that both India and Pakistan claim in entirety but administer in parts. The two nations have fought two wars over Kashmir, which has long been described as the regional nuclear flashpoint.
New Delhi also rejected Trump's offer for mediation on Tuesday.
鈥淲e have a longstanding national position that any issues related to the federally controlled union territory of Jammu and Kashmir must be addressed by India and Pakistan bilaterally. There has been no change to the stated policy,鈥� Jaiswal said.