US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss trade and India's relations with Pakistan, saying he told him there should be “no wars with Islamabad”, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Trump said he had told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that there should be no war with Pakistan, stressing that he had helped avert several conflicts through diplomacy and trade pressure.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office during Diwali celebrations, Trump extended his “warmest wishes to the people of India” and said he had “just spoken to your Prime Minister today.” He described the conversation as “great” and said, “We talked about trade... He's very interested in that.”
Trump added that they also discussed avoiding conflict, saying, “Although we did talk a little while ago about let's have no wars with Pakistan.” He noted the role of commerce in easing tensions: “The fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that.”
"Let me extend our warmest wishes to the people of India. I just spoke to your Prime Minister today. Had a great conversation. We talked about trade... He's very interested in that," Trump said. "Although we did talk a little while ago about let's have no wars with Pakistan. The fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that. And we have no war with Pakistan and India. That was a very, very good thing. He's a great person, and he's become a great friend of mine over the years."
The US president claimed he had prevented eight wars so far through what he described as “deals and trade,” including one between Pakistan and India.
“During the Pakistan-India conflict, seven planes were shot down,” Trump said. “I called both countries and told them that if they went to war, the United States would stop trading with them. Within 24 hours, they called back and said they didn’t want to fight.”
Trump has previously taken credit on several occasions for helping defuse tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, who have fought three wars since independence and remain at odds over the disputed territory of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
In May, Pakistan and Indian engaged in a military showdown, the worst between the old foes in decades. India killed several innocent civilians in unprovoked attacks on Pakistan for three days before the Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated in defence with the successful Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
Pakistan downed seven IAF fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.
Russian oil purchases
Trump added that energy was also part of the discussion, saying Modi assured him that India would be limiting its oil purchases from Russia. "He's not going to buy much oil from Russia. He wants to see that war end as much as I do," Trump said.
India and China are the two top buyers of Russian seaborne crude exports.
Trump has recently targeted India for its Russian oil purchases, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the US to discourage the country's crude buying as he seeks to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine.
Trump on Wednesday said Modi had earlier in a phone call assured him that India would stop its Russian oil purchases. India's foreign ministry said it was not aware of any telephone conversation between the leaders earlier, but said that New Delhi's main concern was to "safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer."
Middle East peace
The US President also used the occasion to claim that his administration was achieving "total peace" in the Middle East. "We are forging peace all over the world... We're getting everybody to get along. I just got a call from the Middle East. We're doing very well there," he said.
Trump claimed that "many countries" had joined peace efforts, adding: "The Hamas situation, they're pretty violent people. We could put that out in two minutes. We're giving them a chance. They agreed that they'd be very good and straight. They wouldn't be killing people. If they don't honour the deal, they'll be taken care of very quickly."
He added: "It is total peace in the Middle East; we have levels of friendship with everybody. Every country that hated each other now loves each other. Nobody ever saw anything like it."