‘Trump used trade as leverage for Indo-Pak conflict to an end’: White House claims

WASHINGTON, DC: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday (local time) repeated the false claim made by US President Donald Trump on brokering peace in the India-Pakistan conflict after Operation Sindoor.

Leavitt, during her press briefing, said that Trump was proud of the peace deals and leveraged trade to end the Indo-Pakistan conflict after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

“[For] India and Pakistan [conflict], he [Trump] used trade in a very powerful way as leverage to bring that conflict to an end. So I know he’s very proud of all of these achievements, and I know he’s very honoured to serve as the president of the United States and to restore peace around the world,” she said.

She said that Trump enjoyed having the Azerbaijan and Armenian leaders at the White House, helping them with the peace deal.

“I think he’s proud of all of the peace deals that he’s been able to achieve. You saw the president of Armenia and the head of Azerbaijan both at the White House just a couple of weeks ago. The president I know very much enjoyed spending time with them and helping to bring that conflict to an end. He very much enjoyed his time with leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Oval Office, talking to them about bringing that decades-long war to an end,” she said.

Leavitt further said that the Secretary of State Marco Rubio continuously apprised Trump of various conflicts bubbling around the world, but now the Russia-Ukraine conflict has caught Trump’s attention.

“In fact, there are many [conflicts around the world]. The State Department is always working around the clock under the leadership of Secretary Rubio and keeping the president apprised of conflicts that are bubbling up all over the world. But of course, as you all know, as we’ve talked a lot about in this briefing, he’s spending a lot of time right now on ending this war in Russia, Ukraine, and of course, the conflict in Israel and Gaza, which he wants to see come to a close as well,” she said.

Trump had earlier, on July 28, stated that he was optimistic about brokering the peace deal between the Southeast Asian nations, describing the talks as “an easy one,” compared to his past claims of resolving the India-Pakistan conflict.

“We’re dealing with Thailand, and we do a lot of trade with Thailand and with Cambodia, and yet I’m reading that they’re killing each other. You know, they’re fighting. They’re in a war. And I say this should be an easy one for me because I’ve settled with India and Pakistan, and Serbia and Kosovo were going at it,” Trump said.

Trump was referencing the recent India-Pakistan conflict in May, where he had claimed credit several times for brokering a ceasefire between the two nuclear nations, using trade as leverage.

The conflict erupted after 26 civilians were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, after which India retaliated through precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

However, according to Indian officials, it was Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) who contacted their Indian counterpart to request an end to hostilities, following which the ceasefire was then agreed upon.

“Getting those things settled, if I can do it and if I can use trade to do that, it’s my honour,” he added, reflecting his belief in trade as a diplomatic tool. (ANI)