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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) reiterated his claim that he played a role in stopping the India-Pakistan conflict, saying the hostilities between the two nations wound have gone "nuclear" and that millions of lives could have been lost.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom, Trump said, "Think of it, India and Pakistan. that war was raging. They were a week into it. Eleven planes were shot down, and that war was going to go nuclear." Trump yet again claimed that he received praise from Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for former's role in "stopping the war". "The Prime Minister of Pakistan said President Trump saved from 30 to 50 million lives. Well, guess what? Could have been a lot more than that," he said. During the interaction, Trump also spoke about his record in resolving international conflicts, claiming he had helped settle multiple wars. "I settled eight wars," Trump said, citing conflicts including those between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Trump made the remarks while responding to a question about Venezuelan Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. He denied advising Machado not to return to Venezuela and described her as "a wonderful person." Referring to the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump said Machado had publicly stated that he deserved the award more than anyone else because of his role in resolving conflicts. "I should have won that award more than anybody who ever received the Nobel Peace Prize because nobody settled wars. I settled eight of them because of a certain type of personality I was able to settle," Trump said. Meanwhile, last week, speaking in an interview with CNBC's Joe Kernen, Trump claimed he had prevented a full-scale war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours by threatening both countries with steep tariffs. "I stopped eight wars because of tariffs - India, Pakistan... Five of the eight were stopped because of tariffs," Trump said. Claiming that the two countries were on the brink of a wider conflict, he said, "I said, if you keep fighting, I'm going to put a 200 per cent tariff on your country. Said the same thing to the other. I did it with India and with Pakistan." The geopolitical backdrop of the confrontation dates back to the April 2024 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. In retaliation, India had launched precision strikes on Pakistan's cross-border terrorist infrastructure under 'Operation Sindoor'.Despite Trump's persistent rhetoric claiming credit for the subsequent de-escalation, New Delhi has consistently refuted any claims of American mediation. India has firmly reiterated that the ceasefire was achieved strictly through bilateral channels between the respective Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs), maintaining its long-standing diplomatic position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are strictly bilateral, with no room for third-party involvement. (ANI)
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