New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Monday (May 12) claimed that the threat of cutting off trade forced India and Pakistan to stop their fighting, asserting that his administration had stopped a “nuclear conflict” between the two neighbours.

Trump’s comments came just before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation, and three days after the two South Asian neighbours announced a ceasefire.

“I said, come on, we're gonna do a lot of trade with you guys. Let's stop it. Let's stop it. If you stop it, we'll do a trade. If you don't stop it, we're not gonna do any trade. People have never really used trade the way I used it, that I can tell you, and all of a sudden, they said, I think we're gonna stop,” Trump said at a White House event.

There was no official response from the Indian government. However, official sources rejected Trump’s assertion, stating that “India rebuts US claim.”

For the first time, Indian officials released details of high-level calls with US counterparts during the conflict, asserting that trade was not discussed in any of them.

“After Operation Sindoor commenced, VP J D Vance spoke to PM on 09 May. Secretary Rubio spoke to EAM on 8 May and 10 May and to NSA on 10 May. There was no reference to trade in any of these discussions,” said the sources.

A day earlier, Trump had also mentioned in a post on Truth Social that while “not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations”.

Also Read: India Silent on Trump's Offer to Work Together on 'Solution Concerning Kashmir', Pak Appreciates Move

In Monday’s remarks, Trump said his administration had “helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire, I think a permanent one, between India and Pakistan, ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons.” He described India and Pakistan as “going at it hot and heavy” and “seemingly not going to stop.”

Claiming that trade was a key tool, Trump said, “And they have (stopped), and they did it for a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one.”

“We're gonna do a lot of trade with Pakistan. We're gonna do a lot of trade with India. We're negotiating with India right now. We're gonna be soon negotiating with Pakistan,” he added.

Trump also asserted, “And we stopped the nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed, so I'm very proud of that.”

He went on to thank the leadership of both countries for having “the wisdom and fortitude to fully know and to understand the gravity of the situation,” and acknowledged the efforts of Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Prime Minister Modi, in his national address, did not mention the United States when explaining why India agreed to a ceasefire on May 10.

“India caused heavy damage to Pakistan in the first three days itself, which it had never imagined. That’s why, after India’s aggressive action, Pakistan started looking for ways to escape. Pakistan was pleading to the world to ease tensions. And after suffering heavy losses, Pakistan’s army contacted our DGMO on the afternoon of 10th May,” Modi said.

He added that Pakistan “appealed and said that it will not indulge in any sort of terror activities or military audacity further. India considered it.”

While Trump claimed the US “stopped nuclear conflict,” suggesting Washington believed a nuclear escalation was imminent, Modi in his address declared, “India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail.”

On May 10, Secretary Rubio had announced that the US and India had agreed “to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site”. Thereafter, Trump also said that he will be working with both countries to find a “solution” to the Kashmir dispute.

Indian official sources say no talks planned with Pakistan

However, Indian official sources denied that any such talks with Pakistan were being planned.

Modi stated in his address that India would not engage in dialogue with Pakistan unless issues of cross-border terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were addressed.

India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting nine locations linked to terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK. The air and missile strikes were in retaliation for a terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists.

Pakistan responded with retaliatory measures, and the following days saw a sharp escalation in hostilities, including drone incursions, air defence engagement, and artillery exchanges.

As global concern grew over the possibility of wider conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours, diplomatic engagement intensified. On May 10, Trump announced a US-brokered ceasefire via social media. Three days later, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) from India and Pakistan held talks and agreed to uphold the truce and avoid further military confrontation.

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