Donald Trump - undeterred by India's six-point rebuttal Thursday in response to the United States President's many claims for credit for the ceasefire with Pakistan - is at it again.
Trump told American soldiers at a base in Qatar he "sure as hell helped settle the problem between India and Pak last week", and that he had resolved a "more and more hostile situation".
"I don't want to 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," Trump, on a tour of West Asia, said.
He also claimed the ceasefire had been facilitated by the prospect of the US increasing trade with both countries. "... we talked to them about trade. 'Let's do trade instead of war', I said, and Pak was very happy with that and India was very happy with that. 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', I said, and we got that settled. Boy, everybody was very happy, I'll tell you. That looked like it was really going to be escalating out of control."
Trump's reference to trade as a 'carrot' was, again, despite India's firm rejections.
On India-US Trade Deal
Sources told NDTV last week there had been no talk of increased trade with the US.
Delhi and Washington are negotiating a bilateral trade deal that is expected to boost exchanges to over $500 billion by 2030, but this agreement is far from being completed, and has no connection to either Operation Sindoor or the ceasefire with Pakistan.
READ | "Complicated, Nothing Decided Till...": Jaishankar On India-US Trade Deal
In fact, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told reporters Thursday talks are ongoing over a "complicated" agreement and that "nothing is decided till everything is..."
Trump The 'Peacemaker'
This is the US President's fourth attempt to grab credit, or at least a slice of it, for facilitating a cessation of hostilities between New Delhi and Islamabad.
NDTV Explains | "Fellas, Come On...": Trump's Many Claims On India-Pak Ceasefire
Attempts to push a narrative casting the Republican as a 'peacemaker' have been backed by comments from his deputy, JD Vance. And the White House this week shared a conversation, reportedly with a man from Jammu and Kashmir, about Trump not getting enough credit.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, accompanying the President on his West Asia tour, said she spoke to a server in Doha. "He said for literally preventing a nuclear war - and he is right!" she wrote in a post on X.
India, which had so far soft-peddled in response, put out a definitive statement this week, stating the India-Pak ceasefire was not US-brokered and that there was no 'nuclear escalation'.
'No Nuclear Escalation'
The US President had repeatedly referred to the threat of a nuclear war to add weight to his 'peacemaking efforts'. At a Monday briefing he seemed to go off-script and claim he stopped a "a bad" nuclear conflict, basing his remark on the fact India and Pak have "lots of weapons".
READ | "Will Work With You Both...": Trump's Kashmir Offer To India, Pak
India has also categorically rejected Trump's offer to mediate a solution to the long-standing Kashmir crisis. India has made it clear over the years a third-party is not welcome in this issue.
Delhi has also insisted the only talks with Islamabad on Kashmir will do with the disabling of terrorist infrastructure in Pak and the return of illegally occupied Indian territory.
READ | 'Vacate Illegally Occupied J&K': India's Demand Won't Change
Meanwhile, Trump's claims about a direct role in the ceasefire process have also been questioned by foreign affairs expert KP Fabian, a former Indian diplomat, who told news agency ANI, "America did not mediate. They might have pushed Pak.... It was not the US telling us, 'You should talk about it..."
The ceasefire, announced May 10, after strikes on Pak military bases, an action prompted by the latter's continuing incursions into Indian airspace, has been extended to Sunday, May 18.
With input from agencies
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