‘Big Nuclear Powers, They Decided’: Trump Softens Claim of Credit for India-Pakistan Truce

United States President Donald Trump said that the two "big nuclear powers," India and Pakistan, had "decided" not to enter into war. This marked the first time in several weeks that Trump refrained from taking credit for the de-escalation of military tensions between the two countries.

His remarks came after a meeting with Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir at the White House, where he hosted Munir for lunch on Wednesday.

Trump also praised India and Pakistan for being "smart" enough to avoid letting the conflict escalate.

Speaking to the media in the Oval Office after meeting Munir, Trump said, “The reason I had him here was I wanted to thank him for not going into the war and for ending the war. Prime Minister Modi just left a little while ago, and we are working on a trade deal with India. We are also working on a trade deal with Pakistan."

"I'm so happy that two smart people, plus you know, people on their staff too, but two smart people, two very smart people decided not to keep going with that war. That could have been a nuclear war. Those are two nuclear powers, big ones, big, big nuclear powers, and they decided that," he added.

Since the signing of the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, Trump had repeatedly claimed credit for calming tensions between the neighboring nations, asserting that he achieved this by promising to do “a lot of trade” with both sides.

No Mediation: PM Modi to Trump

Trump’s softening of his earlier claims of intervention also followed a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. During the call, Modi made it clear that India has not and would never accept any third-party mediation in matters involving Pakistan.

The phone call took place on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada and lasted for 35 minutes. Although the two leaders were scheduled to meet formally at the summit, the meeting was canceled due to President Trump’s early departure.

Providing further details about the call, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, "Prime Minister Modi told President Trump clearly that during this entire series of incidents, there were never any talks at any level regarding an India–U.S. trade deal linked to mediation between India and Pakistan. The talks concerning the cessation of military action were held directly between India and Pakistan through existing military communication channels and were initiated at Pakistan’s request. PM Modi emphasized that India has never accepted mediation, does not accept it now, and never will."

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