Trump ‘proud’ of stopping India-Pakistan potential ‘nuclear war’; says ‘We can fight better than anyone’

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim of America’s role in South Asia, claiming that his ‘proudest’ diplomatic achievement was averting a potential ‘nuclear war’ between India and Pakistan by leveraging trade pressure—a claim that India has swiftly rejected.

US President Donald Trump asserted that a “very nasty” confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours – India and Pakistan – was stopped not through military might, but by using the power of trade.

“I think the deal I'm most proud of is the fact that we're dealing with India, we're dealing with Pakistan and we were able to stop potentially a nuclear war through trade as opposed through bullets,” Donald Trump said, according to a PTI report. 

Trump Credits Trade Leverage for Defusing India-Pakistan Conflict

US President Donald Trump elaborated that, unlike past conflicts that escalated with firepower, the United States under his leadership used economic influence to discourage warfare between India and Pakistan.

“Normally they do it through bullets. We do it through trade. So I'm very proud of that. Nobody talks about it but we had a very nasty potential war going on between Pakistan and India. And now, if you look, they're doing fine,” PTI quoted Trump as saying to the media on Wednesday.

Trump further said, “It was getting very bad. It was getting very nasty. They (India and Pakistan) are both nuclear powers.”

In recent weeks, Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that he warned New Delhi and Islamabad that the United States would cut off trade if tensions didn’t de-escalate.

“I wouldn't have any interest in making a deal with either if they were going to be at war with each other. I would not and I’ll let them know.”

The US president also added that Pakistani officials were scheduled to visit Washington next week. This comes a week after Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir visited Trump. 

India Dismisses Trade Claims, Points to Direct Military Dialogue

However, India has categorically denied that trade discussions with Trump played any role in ending hostilities with Pakistan. Government officials stated last week that no trade threats or offers were part of US-India discussions during the recent cross-border flare-up with Pakistan.

New Delhi maintains that the de-escalation came through direct military-to-military talks between the two countries' Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs).

The conflict stemmed from the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor, a targeted military campaign against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The two sides agreed to cease hostilities on 10 May, following four days of intense missile and drone exchanges.

‘We Can Fight Better Than Anybody’ – Trump

Donald Trump, known for his combative rhetoric, added a characteristic flourish, asserting America’s global strength in deterring conflicts.

“We are stopping others from fighting also because ultimately, we can fight better than anybody. We have the greatest military in the world. We have the greatest leaders in the world.”

The comments came during two separate media interactions on Friday, including one in the Oval Office alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who briefly served in the Trump administration before returning to the private sector.

“We stopped India and Pakistan from fighting. I believe that could have turned out into a nuclear disaster,” Trump told reporters during the press event.

“India, as you know, we're very close to making a deal with India,” Trump added. “Pakistani representatives are coming to Washington next week.”

“I want to thank the leaders of India, the leaders of Pakistan, and I want to thank my people also. We talked trade and we said ‘We can't trade with people that are shooting at each other and potentially using nuclear weapons’. They understood, and they agreed, and that all stopped.” PTI quoted President Trump as saying.