D.C. – Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has brought back his assertion that he personally stepped in to calm down a military clash between India and Pakistan in May. Trump stated at the White House on Monday that the scenario “was going to be a nuclear war” and that he “stopped all of these wars.” He said that his threat to stop commerce with both countries if they didn’t agree to a truce within 24 hours contributed to the end of fighting.
“They already shot down seven jets,” Trump stated, talking about the war. This is different from what he said last month when he said that “five planes were downed.” The president did not say which country lost the plane.
A few weeks ago, India’s Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said that the Indian Air Force shot down six Pakistani planes during “Operation Sindoor,” which was India’s response to a terrorist strike in Jammu and Kashmir. Air Chief Marshal Singh said that India’s S-400 air defense systems shot down the planes, adding the attacks comprised “five confirmed kills” of fighter jets and one huge early-warning plane.
The war started after a terrorist incident in Pahalgam on April 22 that murdered 26 civilians. Military tensions rose from May 7 to May 10 before a ceasefire was announced.
Trump linked his purported mediation to his economic strategy again, saying, “I said, ‘You want to trade? “You have 24 hours to settle this, or we won’t do any business with you.”
India, on the other hand, has firmly and repeatedly turned down Trump’s claims of mediation. The Ministry of External Affairs has said that the truce happened because the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India and the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of Pakistan talked directly to each other. On May 10, India made an official declaration saying the deal was made over the phone between the DGMO and no one else was involved.
The different stories show how people feel differently about the role of international diplomacy in the region’s politics. Even though Trump keeps saying he’s a mediator throughout the world, India is still working to solve its problems with Pakistan on its own.