Trump says he told Modi war with Pakistan should not happen

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had told Indian 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 in 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.”

The US president emphasized the outcome, saying, “And we have no war with Pakistan and India. That was a very, very good thing.” He concluded by praising Modi personally: “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 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.

Trump reiterated on Sunday that Modi told him India will stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying “massive” tariffs if it did not do so. “I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Asked about India’s assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”