Says New Delhi will never accept mediation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told President Donald Trump that India and Pakistan halted their military actions last month following direct talks between their militaries without any mediation by the US, calling out the American leader’s narrative that he brokered the ceasefire.
In a nearly 35-minute phone call with Trump on Tuesday, Modi firmly stated that India does not and will “never accept” mediation and that the discussions between Indian and Pakistani militaries on cessation of military actions were initiated at Islamabad’s request, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said. Modi also said that India no longer views “terrorism as a proxy war, but as a war itself”, and that India’s Operation Sindoor is still ongoing, the foreign secretary said.
The cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was first announced by President Trump on May 10. Since then, Trump has been claiming that he brokered the ceasefire deal by threatening to stop trade with both countries. Modi declined a request by the US president to stop over in the US on his way back from Canada, citing “prior commitments”.
“Prime Minister Modi clearly conveyed to President Trump that at no point during this entire sequence of events was there any discussion, at any level, on an India-US trade deal, or any proposal for a mediation by the US between India and Pakistan,” Misri said.
Trump repeats claim
Hours after holding a phone conversation with Modi, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday repeated his claim that he stopped a war between India and Pakistan. In comments to reporters, Trump described Modi as “a fantastic man” and asserted that the two countries will have a trade deal.
“Well, I stopped the war…. I love Pakistan. I think Modi is a fantastic man. I spoke to him last night. We’re going to make a trade deal with Modi of India. But I stopped the war between Pakistan and India,” Trump said Wednesday.