Trump Repeats Claim That His Trade Threat Made India And Pakistan ‘Agree To Peace’

US President Donald Trump has reiterated that India and Pakistan agreed to halt hostilities in May after he warned both countries that ongoing military conflict would jeopardise trade deals with Washington, PTI reported.

Speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday, Trump said his intervention led to a swift ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. “In eight months I ended eight wars, including Kosovo and Serbia, and Congo and Rwanda, that were going on for a long time... Pakistan and India,” Trump told the gathering.

“You know, I was in the midst of a trade deal with both of them (India and Pakistan), and then I read on the front page of a certain newspaper... I heard they were going to war. Seven planes were shot down, and the eighth was really badly wounded... Eight planes were shot down essentially,” he said.

Trump added that he told both nations he would not move forward with trade negotiations if they continued fighting. “I said, this is war, and they are going at it. And they are two nuclear nations. I said, ‘I'm not going to make any trade deals with you guys unless you agree to peace.’ The two nations said 'No way. This has nothing to do...’ I said, ‘It has everything to do. You are nuclear powers. I'm not trading with you. We're not making any deals with you if you're at war with each other’,” Trump said.

“A day later, I get a call saying, 'We made peace'. They stopped. I said, 'Thank you. Let's do trade'. Isn't that great? Tariffs did that… Without tariffs, that would have never happened," he said, drawing applause from the audience.

According to PTI, Trump has made similar claims more than 60 times since 10 May, when he posted on social media that India and Pakistan had reached a “full and immediate ceasefire” after “a long night” of negotiations mediated by Washington.

India, however, has consistently denied any third-party involvement in its dealings with Pakistan.

The brief conflict earlier this year began after the 22 April Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May, targeting terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Following four days of drone and missile exchanges, the two countries reached an understanding on 10 May to end hostilities, PTI reported.

In his Miami address, Trump also claimed to have played a role in resolving other disputes, including between Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.

“All of them were in war… Some of the wars were 32 years old. One was 38 years old. I got some of these settled in an hour. No help from the United Nations at all,” he said.

He further stated that the US was “making peace through strength” and added, “because they know they're not going to mess around with us. Nobody's going to mess around with us.”

Trump also referenced recent trade arrangements made with China, Japan and Malaysia, calling them “great economic deals, great for everybody.”

(With inputs from PTI)