WASHINGTON, May 17 US President Donald Trump has said that his intervention stopped the India-Pakistan conflict from spiraling into nuclear war by leveraging trade.
Speaking to Fox News during his visit to the Middle East, Trump elaborated on his conversations with Pakistani leadership, saying, “I had great conversations with Pakistan. We can’t forget them. I talked about trade with Pakistan—they would love to trade.”
Trump also acknowledged the intelligence of Pakistanis and their incredible ability to produce remarkable goods and hinted at expanding trade ties as he said: “We will trade”.
He said he would be more than happy to do trade which according to him was still not large enough. “Ohh…they would love to trade…they would love to trade, they are brilliant people and make incredible products. We don’t do much trading with them.”
The president revealed that the US had discussed trade with Pakistan. He noted that the South Asian country also desired to strengthen trade relations with the US.
President Donald Trump claimed that Pakistan and India were very close to a nuclear war, calling the ceasefire agreement between the two nuclear-armed nations one of his “bigger successes.”
Talking about the possibility of a nuclear conflict, Trump said India and Pakistan were very close to a nuclear war. “And I said we’re gonna talk about trade. We’re gonna do a lot of trade…don’t forget Iran wants to trade with us,” he said.
“That was going to be a nuclear war, I think, or close… And now everyone’s happy,” Trump said. “In fact, I told my people, call them up—let’s start trading immediately.”
Trump termed it a foreign policy success – “a bigger success than I would be ever given credit for.” “Those are major nuclear powers and they were angry. The next phase was probably…you see where it was getting.”
He said the conflict could have turned “nasty” had he not jumped in to secure a ceasefire.
Trump described his diplomatic achievement as one that won’t receive the credit it deserves. “A bigger success than I’ll ever be given credit for,” he said. “Those are major nuclear powers. Those are not just little powers and they were angry”.
Highlighting the escalation between the two nations, Trump said, “The next phase was probably, did you see where it was getting? It was tit for tat. It was getting deeper – more missiles, everyone was saying ‘stronger, stronger,’ to a point where the next one’s going to be, you know what? The N word.”
“It’s the N word. That’s a very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways. The N word used in a nuclear sense—that’s the worst thing that can happen. And I think they were very close. The hatred was great,” he added.
Criticizing Indian policies, he said India is the country that imposed the highest tariffs in the world, making it nearly impossible for others to do business. However, Trump added, India is now prepared to reduce tariffs by 100 percent in its trade with the US. “India… they’re one of the highest tariff nations in the world. They make it almost impossible to do business. Do you know that they’re willing to cut 100% of their tariffs for the United States?”
Trump warned of severe consequences for Russia if Ukraine does not reach a settlement. “If a deal is not made with Ukraine, we will impose devastating sanctions on Russia,” he stated.
Trump downplayed any political leverage the Ukrainian president might have. “The Ukrainian president has no ‘Trump card’,” he said. “This is the greatest success—it should be acknowledged,” Trump remarked, referring to recent developments in international relations.
Previously, the US president told US troops at a base in Qatar during a Gulf tour that Pakistan and India were happy with the ceasefire. He told them that hostilities between Pakistan and India had been settled after he urged the two countries to focus on trade instead of war.
The nuclear-armed neighbors halted their worst fighting in nearly three decades after agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10, following diplomacy and pressure from the United States.
Pakistan welcomed Trump’s role in stopping the conflict and said India had approached the US for a ceasefire.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States supported direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continuous efforts to improve relations between the two nations.
In a phone conversation with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the US Secretary of State discussed the tensions between India and Pakistan.
Both leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining a ceasefire and keeping communication channels open between the South Asian neighbors.