Trump again asks Pakistan and India to focus on trade

US President Donald Trump has said that hostilities between Pakistan and India were settled, after he urged the two countries to focus on trade instead of war.

The president told US troops at a base in Qatar during a Gulf tour that Pakistan and India were happy with that.

The nuclear-armed neighbours halted their worst fighting in nearly three decades after agreeing to a ceasefire on Saturday, following diplomacy and pressure from the United States.

"I sure as hell helped settle problem between India and Pakistan last week," said Trump

According to Trump, the situation was getting “more and more hostile” but somehow managed to get it “settled.”

Trump mentioned that both countries were happy with the trade discussion, suggesting that focusing on trade instead of conflict could be a way forward. “I don’t want to say I did, but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was getting more and more hostile, and all of a sudden, you’ll start seeing missiles of a different type, and we got it settled,” Trump said.

The US President mentioned that the situation was “escalating out of control” but seemed confident that his efforts had contributed to a resolution. “I hope I don’t walk out of here and two days later find out that it’s not settled, but I think it is settled, and we talked to them about trade. Let’s do trade instead of, and Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that, and I think they’re on the way…”

He also commented on the historical nature of the dispute. “They have been fighting for about 1,000 years in all fairness. So I said, you know. I could settle that up. I could settle; let me settle it up, and let’s get them all together. How long have you been fighting for about 1,000 years? Oh, that’s a lot. I’m not sure about that. I’m not sure about settling. That’s a tough one. They’ve been fighting for a long time… It was really going to be escalating out of control.”