U.S. President Donald Trump has once again asserted that he played a key role in “getting things settled” between India and Pakistan after their recent four-day military clash, which he claimed could have escalated into a “nuclear conflict.”
Addressing the White House on Friday, August 8, 2025, Trump also reported that "five or six planes got shot down" amid the clash between the two South Asian nations. He did not mention whether these planes belonged to one side or were combined losses from both nations.
India has insisted all along that the ceasefire was established through direct coordination between the two armed forces, and not with any U.S. intervention.
Trump's comments were made during a joint appearance alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, after the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement mediated by the U.S.
As President, my greatest hope is to make the world safe and secure. Today's signing follows our success with Pakistan and India," Trump stated. "They were at it, they were at it big, and they were two great leaders that sat down just before what would have been an enormous war, as you know, a nuclear war, likely.
Emphasizing his faith in settling issues with economic involvement, Trump said, "I settled things with India, Pakistan. I think it was trade more than anything else. That's how I came into it."
"I said, 'You know, I don't want to be dealing with nations that are attempting to blow themselves up and perhaps the world'. They're nuclear powers," he said.
Trump mentioned the India-Pakistan confrontation twice in his speech, tacking it on to the about 35 other times that he has taken credit for averting a war between the two nations through trade diplomacy.
"That was a big one, getting that one settled. I think you'd agree that was a big one," Trump said to Aliyev.
"And they were at it, you know, they were shooting down airplanes… five or six airplanes were shot down in their last little battle, and then it was going to snowball from there. That could have gotten to be very, very ugly," he said.
New Delhi has reaffirmed that the ceasefire was the outcome of direct dialogue between India and Pakistan's Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs).
Trump, in remarks at the signing ceremony, highlighted his efforts at international conflict resolution, declaring, "I love saving lives. That's what it's about. And you know, when you save lives, you really end up having a peaceful world. Usually that ends up pretty well." He also mentioned conflicts between Congo and Rwanda, Thailand and Cambodia, and Serbia and Kosovo as indications of wars he says he has helped settle.
When questioned about the conflict in Ukraine, Trump responded, "I think we're close. I think that a lot of things did happen recently that would make this move forward. I'm not going to mention anything related to India, but perhaps that had an influence. But what actually had an influence was that NATO picked up in the way of their own spending on purchasing military equipment."
The U.S. President also mentioned that he doesn't hope to receive a nod of approval from the Nobel Committee for his efforts towards peace. "I'm not politicking for it. I have a lot of people that are…it would be a great honour, certainly, but I would never politick. I'm not doing it for that. I'm doing it because I really, number one, I want to save lives. That's why I'm involved so much with Ukraine and Russia."
Read also| Putin-Trump Meeting Set for August 15 in Alaska
Read also| Xi and Putin Confer on Ukraine Conflict Ahead of Russia-US Summit
