United States President Donald Trump on Sunday again asserted that his efforts were singularly responsible for halting the military conflict between India and Pakistan in May this year, a claim New Delhi has consistently rejected. The remarks were made to reporters aboard Air Force One as the President commenced a three-nation diplomatic tour across Asia.
During a press gaggle following a stopover at Al-Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, President Trump cited the India-Pakistan de-escalation as one of the difficult peace deals he had “got done,” contrasting it with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
“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,” President Trump stated. He has repeatedly claimed he used the leverage of trade concessions to broker the ceasefire, a detail India has denied, maintaining that the issue of trade never arose during de-escalation talks.
India has publicly clarified that the “ceasefire understanding” between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May was achieved after direct, high-level talks between the Directors-General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries, effectively dismissing any suggestion of US mediation.
Putin’s Alleged Praise and Ukraine War Challenge
The U.S. President also revealed a recent conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which, he claimed, the Russian leader had praised his diplomatic prowess.
Responding to a question on the possibility of a meeting to halt the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said, “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.”
He then claimed that Putin had specifically lauded his successful efforts in a different former Soviet conflict. “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,” Trump claimed.
Despite his stated good relationship with the Russian President, Trump called the situation in Ukraine “very disappointing” and the most challenging to solve.
Middle East Peace and Asia Tour Agenda
The President’s diplomatic sprint began with a refueling stop in Doha, Qatar, where he welcomed Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani aboard Air Force One. The impromptu meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the fragile Middle East peace process.
Trump expressed confidence in the durability of the recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire, while issuing a stern warning to the Palestinian militant group. “I think it [ceasefire] will hold. Well, if it doesn’t hold, it’s Hamas. Hamas will not be hard to deal with very quickly,” he cautioned. “I hope it holds for Hamas too because they gave us their world on something, so I think it’s going to hold, and if it doesn’t, then they’ll have a very big problem.”
The current trip is scheduled to take President Trump to Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, followed by visits to Japan and South Korea, where he is also expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping for crucial trade talks.