On Monday, President Donald Trump announced that he had used the promise of expanded trade with America to persuade India and Pakistan to back away from the edge of war last week—a confrontation which he said posed the risk of spiraling out of control as a nuclear battle.
Commending the steps taken by both countries, Trump praised their leadership for showing "wisdom" and "fortitude" to see through the gravity of the situation and decide to stand down.
In the wake of the fatal April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir—that was claimed by an outfit with Pakistan connections and killed 26 tourists—Trump said on Saturday that fighting had stopped between the two nations.
Telling journalists in the White House before he left for the Middle East, where he was going to visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, Trump outlined how he had employed trade as a leverage tool to urge peace.
Come on, we're going to do a lot of trade with you guys," the US President declared. "Let's stop it. Let's stop it. If you stop it, we're doing trade. If you don't stop it, we're not going to do any trade.
He stressed that both Pakistan and India were to gain from stronger trade ties with the US. "We're going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan. We're going to do a lot of trade with India. We're negotiating with India right now, we're going to be soon, negotiating with Pakistan," he further added.
Though details were not revealed on how these trade proposals were conveyed or legalized, Trump's statement follows continued negotiations between India and the US on a proposed bilateral trade agreement. Unlike during Trump's previous term in 2019, when the talks failed, both sides have now expressed renewed optimism.
Trump also asserted his intervention prevented a disaster. "We stopped (a) nuclear conflict," he said, admitting the threat of horrific outcomes—despite no public indication that either was immediately poised to unleash nuclear war.
"I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed. So I'm very proud of that," he said.
Earlier in the same media briefing, Trump pointed to his administration's role in brokering what he described as a "full and immediate ceasefire" between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. "I think [it's] a permanent one," he said, describing the situation as "dangerous" and fast moving before action was taken.
Looking at the leadership in the two countries, Trump said, "I'm very proud to let you know that the leadership of India and Pakistan was unwavering, powerful, but unwavering in both cases." He added that they had "the strength and the wisdom and fortitude to fully know and to understand the gravity of the situation."
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