- Donald Trump claimed credit for resolving conflicts including India-Pakistan ceasefire again
- Trump said he thought resolving India-Pakistan conflict would be tougher than Russian-Ukraine war
- Trump also asserted India will stop Russian oil imports by year-end, a claim New Delhi has denied
US President Donald Trump has once again taken credit for resolving conflicts worldwide, including the conflict between India and Pakistan earlier this year. Trump, while speaking to the media aboard Air Force One ahead of his Asia visit, said he thought ending other conflicts - including India and Pakistan - would be tougher than Russia and Ukraine.
"I got it done (ceasefire). There are others. If you look at India and Pakistan - I could say almost any one of the deals that I've already done I thought would have been more difficult than Russia and Ukraine, but it didn't work out that way. Russia-Ukraine is the most challenging conflict to solve," he said.
Trump has been repeatedly claiming that he helped to secure a "full and immediate" ceasefire between the nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan after talks reportedly mediated by Washington. Earlier this month, he touted his tariff threats as the real peacemaker, adding that he would not have been able to "solve" eight global conflicts otherwise.
India, however, has repeatedly rejected Trump's claim, maintaining that the decision to pause hostilities was reached via direct talks, without any third-party mediation.
Trump repeats Russian oil claim
Trump also repeated his claim that India is stopping Russian oil imports by year-end - which was a key reason behind his tariff offensive against New Delhi.
"India is cutting back completely. I might discuss about China buying Russian oil with Xi Jinping," the US President said.
He had earlier cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance that India would stop buying oil from Russia. "He's assured me there will be no oil purchases from Russia. He can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon," he had said.
India has denied any agreement over the oil imports, emphasising its priority to safeguard consumer interests.
The US President is on a three-nation tour, during which, after Malaysia, he is set to visit Japan and South Korea. While in Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN Summit, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks to prevent an escalation of their trade war.
Trump on meeting Putin
The US President put his plans to meet Putin on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit on hold unless there is a "deal on Ukraine ceasefire". While Trump claimed that Putin praised him for his efforts in brokering peace in various other conflicts, including in Azerbaijan and Armenia, he said he won't be "wasting his time".
"I'm going to have to know that we're going to have a deal (with Putin). I'm not going to be wasting my time. I've always had a very great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing. I thought this would have gotten done before peace in the Middle East. We have Azerbaijan, Armenia - that was very tough. In fact, Putin told me on the phone he said, 'Boy, that was amazing' because everybody tried to get that done and they couldn't," he said.
