The US president has claimed he used trade pressure to prevent a potential war between the two nuclear-armed neighbors
US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan earlier this year, calling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a killer” and doing an impersonation of him when recounting a conversation between the two leaders.
Speaking at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in South Korea on Wednesday, Trump said he had made calls to both New Delhi and Islamabad and used trade pressure to prevent a potential war between the two neighbors.
”These are two nuclear nations. And they’re really going at it. And I called Prime Minister Modi and said, ‘We can’t make a trade deal with you.’ ‘No, no, we must make a trade deal.’ I said, ‘No, we can’t. You’re starting a war with Pakistan. We’re not going to do it.’ And then I called Pakistan and said, ‘We’re not going to do trade with you because you’re fighting with India,’” Trump said.
He then imitated Modi’s response, suggesting that Indian leader, “the nicest-looking guy,” was “tough as hell.”
“No, we will fight,” he continued, doing an imitation of Modi’s voice. “I said, ‘Whoa, this is the same man that I know.”
#WATCH | US President Donald Trump says, “I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi. We have a great relationship. Likewise, the Prime Minister of Pakistan is a great guy. They have a Field Marshal. You know why he’s a Field… pic.twitter.com/ZbxkpSnBl1
India and Pakistan were involved in a military conflict from May 7 to 10, which followed a terrorist attack on April 22 in Indian-administered Kashmir that claimed 26 lives.
Trump claimed he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a “long night of talks,” offering both countries access to the US market.
New Delhi has rejected the claims several times. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar previously stated in the Indian parliament that “at no stage in any conversation with the United States, was there any linkage with trade and what was going on.”
In his speech on Wednesday Trump also hinted at achieving a trade deal with India soon. New Delhi and Washington have been negotiating an agreement for months, although the US has imposed 50% levies on Indian exports, which includes a 25% punitive tariff for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil and weaponry.
The move, as well as demands by US companies to open up India’s agriculture sector, have reportedly caused roadblocks in the trade talks between the two nations.
Trump’s remarks also follow new sanctions imposed by Washington on Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil, which directly impacts Indian oil purchases. Before unveiling the new sanctions, Trump claimed Modi had promised to stop importing Russian oil – which New Delhi has denied.
