US President Donald Trump said on Monday he had told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that there should be no war with Pakistan, stressing that he had helped avert several conflicts through diplomacy and trade pressure.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office during Diwali
celebrations, Trump extended his “warmest wishes to the people of India” and
said he had “just spoken to your Prime Minister today.” He described the
conversation as “great” and said, “We talked about trade... He's very
interested in that.”
Trump added that they also discussed avoiding conflict,
saying, “Although we did talk a little while ago about let's have no wars with
Pakistan.” He noted the role of commerce in easing tensions: “The fact that
trade was involved, I was able to talk about that.”
The US president emphasised the outcome, saying, “And we
have no war with Pakistan and India. That was a very, very good thing.” He
concluded by praising Modi personally: “He's a great person, and he's become a
great friend of mine over the years.”
The US president claimed he had prevented eight wars so far
through what he described as “deals and trade,” including one between Pakistan
and India.
“During the Pakistan-India conflict, seven planes were shot
down,” Trump said. “I called both countries and told them that if they went to
war, the United States would stop trading with them. Within 24 hours, they
called back and said they didn’t want to fight.”
Trump has previously taken credit on several occasions for
helping defuse tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, who have
fought three wars since independence and remain at odds over the disputed
territory of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
In May, Pakistan and Indian engaged in a military showdown,
the worst between the old foes in decades, which was sparked by a terrorist
attack on tourists in IIOJK's Pahalgam area, which New Delhi said was backed by
Pakistan.
Islamabad denied involvement in the Kashmir attack, which
killed 26 men and was the worst assault on civilians in India since the Mumbai
attacks in 2008.
After the incident, India killed several innocent civilians
in unprovoked attacks on Pakistan for three days before the Pakistan Armed
Forces retaliated in defence with the successful Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
Pakistan downed six IAF fighter jets, including three
Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two
nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by
the US.
Trump added that energy was also part of the discussion,
saying Modi assured him that India would be limiting its oil purchases from
Russia.
"He's not going to buy much oil from Russia. He wants
to see that war end as much as I do," Trump said.
India and China are the two top buyers of Russian seaborne
crude exports.
Trump has recently targeted India for its Russian oil
purchases, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the US to discourage the
country's crude buying as he seeks to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal
in Ukraine.
Trump reiterated on Sunday that Modi told him India will
stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying
"massive" tariffs if it did not do so.
"I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said
he's not going to be doing the Russian oil thing," Trump told reporters
aboard Air Force One.
Asked about India's assertion that it was not aware of any
conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: "But if they want to
say that, then they'll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don't
want to do that."
Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in
prolonged trade talks with India - half of his 50% tariffs on Indian goods are
in retaliation for those purchases. The US government has said that petroleum
revenue funds Russia’s war in Ukraine.
India has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil
sold at a discount after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed
sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Trade talks between India and the US are going on in a
"congenial" manner, an Indian government official said on Saturday,
declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of talks.
An Indian delegation, which was in the US earlier this month
for talks, has returned, the official said, declining to share further details.
An email to India's trade ministry was not immediately
answered on Monday, which was a public holiday.
Trump on Wednesday said Modi had assured him that day that
India would stop its Russian oil purchases. India's foreign ministry said it
was not aware of any telephone conversation between the leaders that day, but
said that New Delhi's main concern was to "safeguard the interests of the
Indian consumer."
A White House official said on Thursday that India has
halved its purchases of Russian oil, but Indian sources said no immediate
reduction had been seen.
The sources said Indian refiners already placed orders for
November loading, including some slated for December arrival, so any cut may
start showing up in December or January import numbers.
India's imports of Russian oil are set to rise about 20%
this month to 1.9 million barrels per day, according to estimates from
commodities data firm Kpler, as Russia ramps up exports after Ukrainian drones
hit its refineries.
