Donald Trump the peacemaker. That’s the narrative the USA President has proposed within the aftermath of India and Pakistan’s 100-hour conflict final week – a battle began by the Pahalgam terror assault and wound down by a ceasefire trumpeted first by him on Fact Social.
Mr Trump has claimed that position no less than twice over the previous few days – regardless of India making the sequence of occasions main as much as the ceasefire fairly clear – and repeated it a 3rd time Tuesday earlier than a state dinner hosted by Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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“Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan…” the US President declared.
“Both have powerful leaders, strong… good, smart… And it stopped.”
And, little question in anticipation of a lavish unfold to come back, he quipped to reporters that the Indian and Pakistani leaders must have a “nice dinner as a mark of getting back together”.
“The whole group (referring to his administration) worked with you… they (India and Pak) are actually getting along now. Maybe we can even get them together a little bit… where they go out and have a nice dinner together. Wouldn’t that be nice? We’ve come a long way,” he warbled.
And with the Crown Prince; his ‘advisor’, Tesla CEO Elon Musk; and US State Secretary Marco Rubio within the viewers, in addition to press from all over the world, Mr Trump doubled down on one other of his claims – that he had averted a doable nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan.
“Millions could have died from that conflict that was getting bigger…”
READ | “Let’s Not Trade Nukes, Let’s Trade…”: Trump To India, Pak
He additionally claimed he had ‘disciplined’ India and Pakistan by threatening to withhold commerce with every nation. “Fellas, come on…” was what he supposedly instructed Delhi and Islamabad. “Let’s do some trading… not nuclear missiles. Let’s trade things you make so beautifully.”
‘Could’ve Been A Dangerous Nuke Warfare’
He has additionally given himself a pat for having stopped a nuclear conflict.
At a Monday briefing in Washington he appeared to off-script and declare he stopped a “a bad” nuclear battle, basing his comment on the very fact India and Pak have “lots of nuclear weapons”.
READ | “Could’ve Been A Bad Nuke War,” Claims Trump. What PM Stated
The ‘trade’ declare was rolled out too; “I said, ‘come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys… so let’s stop it. Stop it if you want trade’. And then they said ‘we’re going to stop’.”
“People have never used trade the way I have used it,” Mr Trump stated.
‘Going To Increase Trade…’
Was commerce with India and Pak ever one thing mentioned by Mr Trump?
Effectively, no. Not in accordance with the US President himself.
READ | Trump’s Large Commerce Promise To India, Pak After Ceasefire
On Sunday, hours after claiming the ceasefire, he was again on Fact Social, writing, “While not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great nations.”
That appears to contradict his “let’s do some trading” declare in Riyadh.
India, in the meantime, has flatly rejected any discuss of a ceasefire-for-trade-concessions deal, a plotline that appeared plausible given Mr Trump’s tariff wars with just about the entire world.
‘Trade + Nuclear War Threat’?
These claims – utilizing the prospect of shedding US commerce to convey India and Pak to heel, and heading off a nuclear conflict – have been the cornerstone of Mr Trump’s ‘peacemaker’ proclamations.
Neither have been countenanced by India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned Pak towards sponsoring additional terror assaults (File).
The Indian authorities made it clear it won’t be swayed by ‘nuclear blackmail’ and, on Sunday, outlined occasions main as much as Pakistan’s cellphone name to the US, asking for Washington’s intervention. Islamabad reached out fearing Indian navy strikes on its nuclear installations.
READ | What Sources Stated On Trump’s Commerce Declare Over Ceasefire
In line with Delhi, the US’ restricted (however essential) position was telling Pakistan to know that that they had been crushed and to achieve out to the Indian authorities and de-escalate the scenario.
This Trump-Pakistan trade was on Saturday morning.
And, whereas Pak was doing that (Delhi later stated technical difficulties delayed the cellphone name from Islamabad), the US President hot-footed it to Fact Social to say credit score.
At 5.25pm, 10 minutes earlier than the Indian and Pak navy leaders had been to talk, Mr Trump claimed a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night of talks” mediated by the US.
The ceasefire was confirmed by India and Pakistan minutes later.
‘Solution For Kashmir’
In the meantime, Mr Trump has additionally thrown in no less than two presents to mediate an finish to the Kashmir challenge, regardless of India’s traditionally unchanged place on third-party involvement.
New Delhi outlined that place emphatically Tuesday, saying the one ‘talks’ it’s keen to carry with Pakistan on Kashmir is the “return of illegally occupied Indian territory”.
This echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agency assertion.
READ | ‘Vacate Illegally Occupied J&K’: India’s Demand Gained’t Change
Mr Trump had, over the weekend, clubbed his ceasefire credit score declare with a suggestion to “work with you both to see if, after a thousand years, a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir”.
He made a suggestion in 2019 too. After which, as now, it was rejected.
Russia-Ukraine Warfare Rumbles On
In the meantime, Russia’s conflict on Ukraine – which started in February 2022 – and which Donald Trump declared he would convey a fast finish if elected President – continues for ever and ever.
24 hours – that was the deadline Mr Trump set for himself.
He took oath on January 20. On Jan 22 he introduced tariffs on Russia. It appeared a superb begin. Russia’s Vladimir Putin appeared prepared to speak.
Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy on the White Home in February 2025.
However every little thing appeared to unravel after Ukraine felt bypassed in these talks; Ukrainian international minister Andrii Sybiha stated ‘nothing can be discussed on Ukraine without Ukraine’.
And that disastrous White Home face-off in February – the US President and Vice President up towards Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy – appeared the icing on Mr Trump’s failure to finish that conflict.
Since then there have been faltering ceasefires and accusations of violation, together with that of a 30-hour truce for Easter final month, a transfer Russia and Ukraine labored out with out the US.
And this week Mr Zelenskyy bolstered his intention to carry direct talks with Mr Putin in Turkey – a primary face-to-face for the reason that conflict started – though he stated he had little hope the Russian would present up.
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