Donald Trump Reclaims India-Pakistan Ceasefire Credit Despite India’s Denial, Says ‘I Got It Done’

United States President Donald Trump, once again, claimed credit for halting the military conflict between India and Pakistan in May this year. New Delhi, however, denied the assertion, stating that the ceasefire understanding resulted from DGMO-level talks.

Trump Highlights Ceasefire Amid Russia-Ukraine Discussion

While addressing questions about a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said that Putin praised him for brokering peace in other conflicts, including Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Trump described the Russia-Ukraine war as "the most challenging thing to solve," emphasizing that the pause in the India-Pakistan conflict was his doing.

"I got it done [ceasefire]. There are others. If you look at India and Pakistan. I could say almost any one of the deals that I've already done I thought would have been more difficult than Russia and Ukraine, but it didn't work out that way," he said while speaking to media aboard Air Force One.

He further added, "I'm going to have to know that we're going to have a deal [with Putin]. I'm not going to be wasting my time. I have always had a very great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing. I thought this would have gotten done before peace in the Middle East. We have Azerbaijan, Armenia - that was very tough. In fact, Putin told me on the phone he said, 'Boy, that was amazing' because everybody tried to get that done and they couldn't."

India Denies Trump's Ceasefire Claims

Trump has repeatedly stated that he helped broker a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, allegedly in exchange for trade concessions. India, however, denied these claims, asserting that trade discussions were not part of any talks during the May military escalation.

Upcoming International Visits and Middle East Peace

Trump is now en route to Malaysia to attend the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, followed by visits to Japan and South Korea. He made a stop at Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base in Doha, where he welcomed Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani aboard his plane.

During the press interaction, Trump also commented on the ceasefire in the Middle East, expressing optimism while warning Hamas of serious consequences if the agreement with Israel is violated.

"I think it [ceasefire] will hold. Well, if it doesn't hold, it's Hamas. Hamas will not be hard to deal with very quickly. I hope it holds for Hamas too because they gave us their word on something, so I think it's going to hold, and if it doesn't, then they'll have a very big problem," he said.