Trump again claims credit for resolving India-Pakistan conflict via trade

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Thursday (IST) that he played a key role in settling the recent India–Pakistan conflict through trade.

Speaking at the Oval Office during a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump said, “If you take a look at what we just did with Pakistan and India... we settled that whole, and I think I settled it through trade.”

India denies Trump’s claim of intervention

Trump has made similar remarks since India and Pakistan agreed to cease all military action on May 10, following four days of cross-border drone and missile strikes after 'Operation Sindoor'.

India, however, has publicly denied Trump’s role in the de-escalation. On May 19, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefed a parliamentary committee on the developments post-Operation Sindoor and made no mention of US mediation.

Earlier, in an interview with Fox News, Trump had called the outcome, “A bigger success than I'll ever be given credit for. Those are major nuclear powers. Those are not like a little bit, and they were angry.”

What led to Operation Sindoor?

On the intervening night of May 6–7, India launched coordinated missile strikes on nine terrorist targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), codenamed Operation Sindoor.

The strikes were in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists.

Before the military operation, India downgraded the diplomatic ties with Pakistan, suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, and cancelled visas under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES)

Pakistan responded with heavy cross-border shelling along the Line of Control (LoC). After four days of hostilities, both countries agreed to an understanding to cease fire and halt all military activity.