During a press conference in London, Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer once again reaffirmed their claim to have mediated peace between India and Pakistan after their conflict in May 2025.
Trump claimed to have used economic leverage to mediate a number of conflicts across the world, including between “two nuclear countries” India and Pakistan, and implied that their access to US markets was contingent on their moderation.
During a London news conference, Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer once again reaffirmed their role in mediating peace between India and Pakistan after their conflict in May 2025.
Trump claimed to have used his economic influence to arbitrate a number of international conflicts, including those between India and Pakistan, the “two nuclear countries,” implying that their access to American markets was contingent on their moderation.
His most recent comments are consistent with earlier statements in which he and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized Washington’s role in bringing an end to hostilities following the terror assault in Pahalgam on April 22 and India’s subsequent commencement of Operation Sindoor.
Trump and his administration have presented this as a diplomatic victory for the Trump administration, claiming that pressure from U.S. trade was the key that forced both sides to agree to a truce.
The White House emphasized that Trump was “proud” of this approach, highlighting his larger theme of enforcing peace through the use of America’s economic might as a foreign policy tool.
India, on the other hand, has adamantly denied the idea of outside intervention, claiming that the ceasefire was started when Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations got in touch with his Indian counterpart to ask for a stop to the fighting after significant casualties and rising dangers of escalation.
No foreign leader put pressure on New Delhi to stop military action, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has firmly affirmed India’s independence in carrying out Operation Sindoor.
Modi emphasized in his speech to Parliament that India had broken the record of giving in to Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail and that it had acted only in accordance with its own security and strategic considerations.
He revealed that he was involved in operational consultations with the military forces on May 9 during the height of the war when the U.S. Vice President tried to reach him. He only returned the call later.
According to Modi, the American interlocutor had warned of a possible huge Pakistani attack, to which he replied resolutely that any such action would result in harsh Indian reprisals.
India’s emphasis on autonomous decision-making and Trump’s assertion of U.S.-led de-escalation underscore a diplomatic struggle for credit in crisis settlement.
For New Delhi, claiming complete command of Operation Sindoor strengthens India’s strategic independence and legitimacy in the face of terrorism and cross-border aggression, while for Washington, the assertion supports Trump’s campaign narrative of global deal-making skills.
Although they are less outspoken, Pakistan is thought to have requested a ceasefire after the Indian counterattack had damaged its military and terror apparatus.
This discrepancy highlights the conflicts’ geopolitical importance as well as the political value of world leaders taking credit for bringing about peace.
