After repeatedly claiming he had a significant role in brokering the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan following a deadly conflict triggered by a terrorist attack in Pahalgam , US president Donald Trump on Thursday seeminlgy watered down his contribution in the whole matter.
While addressing a crowd of US military personnel in Qatar, Trump on Thursday said, "I don't wanna say I did but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was getting more and more hostile and all of a sudden you'll start seeing missiles of a different type and we got it settled. I hope I don't walk out of here and two days later find out that it is not settled, but I think it is settled."
The US president also claimed that he talked about trade to both India and Pakistan as a measure to stop the war-like situation that was unfolding between the two states. "And we talked to them about trade. Let's do trade instead of war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that and I think they are on the way. They have been fighting for about a thousand years, in all fairness. I said I could settle that up. I could settle anything. Let me settle it up. Let's get them all together," Trump said.
What Trump had said
The recent statements are a far cry from what Trump has been claiming.
Immediately after the ceasefire between India and Pakistan on Sunday, Trump had claimed he mediated between the two nations. Posting on Truth Social, Trump said, "After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both countries on using common sense and great intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Trump had specifically thanked US senator Marco Rubio and vice president JD Vance for their role in the negotiations. “Marco, stand up. What a great job you did on that,” he said. “Maybe we can even get them together a little bit, Marco, where they go out and have a nice dinner together,” he suggested.
He had asserted that the United States mediated the truce, threatened to withhold trade to pressure both nations, and suggested that increased trade incentives helped bring about the cessation of hostilities.
Trump also portrayed the ceasefire as a major diplomatic success, stating that he had prevented a potential nuclear war and even envisioned the leaders of India and Pakistan dining together in peace.
The US president made similar claims over the next few days. On Wednesday, Trump again said he had "brokered" a deal between India and Pakistan.
“Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan, and I used trade to a large extent to do it,” he said. “I said, fellas, come on, let’s make a deal. Let’s do some trading. Let’s not trade nuclear missiles. Let’s trade the things that you make so beautifully,” he added.
However, these claims were strongly rejected by India.
The external affairs ministry issued a detailed six-point rebuttal denying any US mediation or trade leverage in the ceasefire agreement.
They clarified that the ceasefire was achieved directly through military-to-military channels between the Directors General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan, without any involvement of trade discussions or US threats.
India also rejected Trump's suggestion of third-party mediation on Kashmir, reaffirming that Kashmir is a bilateral issue to be resolved only between India and Pakistan.
Amid this pushback, President Trump appeared to moderate his earlier statements.
India's stance
A day after Trump's initial claim, Prime Minister Narendra Modi , in an address to the nation, declared India would not be involved in dialogue with Pakistan, but did not mention mediation by the US or mediation in general.
"India will only engage with Pakistan on two issues, terrorism and the return of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), ruling out any possibility of normal diplomatic dialogue," the Prime Minister had said.
Minister of external affairs S Jaishankar , on Thursday, categorically denied the mediation. He said, "Our relations and dealings with Pakistan will be strictly bilateral. That is a national consensus for years, and there is absolutely no change in that. The prime minister made it very clear that talks with Pakistan will be only on terror," he said.
The ministry of external affairs also, in a statement on Tuesday, said, "That stated policy has not changed," and denied that there we talks about trade in the talks with the US. "From the time Operation Sindoor started on May 7 till the understanding on cessation of military action on May 10, there were conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions," it said.
While addressing a crowd of US military personnel in Qatar, Trump on Thursday said, "I don't wanna say I did but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was getting more and more hostile and all of a sudden you'll start seeing missiles of a different type and we got it settled. I hope I don't walk out of here and two days later find out that it is not settled, but I think it is settled."
While addressing a crowd of U.S. military personnel in Qatar, US President Donald Trump reiterated his mediation efforts between India and Pakistan. He said:
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 15, 2025
"I don't wanna say I did but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was… pic.twitter.com/DcwwZtDHRO
The US president also claimed that he talked about trade to both India and Pakistan as a measure to stop the war-like situation that was unfolding between the two states. "And we talked to them about trade. Let's do trade instead of war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that and I think they are on the way. They have been fighting for about a thousand years, in all fairness. I said I could settle that up. I could settle anything. Let me settle it up. Let's get them all together," Trump said.
What Trump had said
The recent statements are a far cry from what Trump has been claiming.
Immediately after the ceasefire between India and Pakistan on Sunday, Trump had claimed he mediated between the two nations. Posting on Truth Social, Trump said, "After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both countries on using common sense and great intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Trump had specifically thanked US senator Marco Rubio and vice president JD Vance for their role in the negotiations. “Marco, stand up. What a great job you did on that,” he said. “Maybe we can even get them together a little bit, Marco, where they go out and have a nice dinner together,” he suggested.
He had asserted that the United States mediated the truce, threatened to withhold trade to pressure both nations, and suggested that increased trade incentives helped bring about the cessation of hostilities.
Trump also portrayed the ceasefire as a major diplomatic success, stating that he had prevented a potential nuclear war and even envisioned the leaders of India and Pakistan dining together in peace.
The US president made similar claims over the next few days. On Wednesday, Trump again said he had "brokered" a deal between India and Pakistan.
“Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan, and I used trade to a large extent to do it,” he said. “I said, fellas, come on, let’s make a deal. Let’s do some trading. Let’s not trade nuclear missiles. Let’s trade the things that you make so beautifully,” he added.
However, these claims were strongly rejected by India.
The external affairs ministry issued a detailed six-point rebuttal denying any US mediation or trade leverage in the ceasefire agreement.
They clarified that the ceasefire was achieved directly through military-to-military channels between the Directors General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan, without any involvement of trade discussions or US threats.
India also rejected Trump's suggestion of third-party mediation on Kashmir, reaffirming that Kashmir is a bilateral issue to be resolved only between India and Pakistan.
Amid this pushback, President Trump appeared to moderate his earlier statements.
India's stance
A day after Trump's initial claim, Prime Minister Narendra Modi , in an address to the nation, declared India would not be involved in dialogue with Pakistan, but did not mention mediation by the US or mediation in general.
"India will only engage with Pakistan on two issues, terrorism and the return of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), ruling out any possibility of normal diplomatic dialogue," the Prime Minister had said.
Minister of external affairs S Jaishankar , on Thursday, categorically denied the mediation. He said, "Our relations and dealings with Pakistan will be strictly bilateral. That is a national consensus for years, and there is absolutely no change in that. The prime minister made it very clear that talks with Pakistan will be only on terror," he said.
The ministry of external affairs also, in a statement on Tuesday, said, "That stated policy has not changed," and denied that there we talks about trade in the talks with the US. "From the time Operation Sindoor started on May 7 till the understanding on cessation of military action on May 10, there were conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions," it said.
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