Trump India Pakistan Trade Pressure Claim: Ex-President Says He Prevented War
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, former U.S. President Donald Trump once again cited his role in bringing down tensions between India and Pakistan, by using trade pressure to stop for escalation.
“I said, I don’t want to make a trade deal with you here today… You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war…I said, call me back tomorrow. But we are not going to do any deals with you, or we are going to put tariffs on you that will make your head spin,” Trump said of a conversation he had with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Trump said he directly told Modi to calm hostilities with Pakistan, and warned of tariffs if the potential conflict got out of control. “The hatred was tremendous,” he said, referring to the contextual nature of India–Pakistan tensions, he said within “five hours” the issue was resolved.
Trump even referenced the situation in relationship to what he claimed was his role to effectuate at the outset of Russia–Ukraine war, that he had previously taken steps to mitigate a major military escalation.
His comments come when South Asia still suffers sporadic flare-ups along the Line of Control (LoC), although New Delhi and Islamabad have a delicate ceasefire in place as of 2021. Indian officials have not addressed Trump’s recent claims, but analysts note this is not the first time Trump claimed to have mediated a dispute in the region.
Earlier as well, during his presidency, Trump had said he would “mediate” with India and Pakistan over Kashmir, a proposal that was firmly rejected by New Delhi, which consistently maintained the issue was bilateral.
Meanwhile, analysts believe Trump’s recent claims are part of a broader election narrative as he continues to highlight his foreign policy while contrasting it with the current Biden administration.
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