US President Donald Trump again asserted America's role in mediating peace between India and Pakistan, asserting that he had pressed both countries to "not trade nuclear missiles, but trade the things that you make so beautifully."
Trump said this in his first major foreign policy trip overseas since winning a second non-consecutive term in the White House. He is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of a three-leg tour of West Asia.
"Fellas, come on," Trump said, speaking to both India and Pakistan, "Let's make a deal. Let's do some trading. Let's not trade nuclear missiles. Let's trade the things that you make so beautifully."
The president continued to emphasize his administration's involvement in facilitating the recent India-Pakistan ceasefire, observing, "Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to halt the rising violence between India and Pakistan, and I used trade to a large extent to do it." He mentioned this while delivering a foreign policy speech with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman present.
Trump complimented the two nations' leadership, saying, "They both have very powerful leaders, very strong leaders, good leaders, smart leaders. And it all stopped."
He particularly commended Secretary of State Marco Rubio for leading the US push in the India-Pakistan war, highlighting the possible scope of the crisis: "Millions of people could have died from that conflict that started off small and was getting bigger and bigger by the day."
The US president reinforced his dedication to ending world wars, citing his role in endeavors to settle the current Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump has consistently emphasized the US's role in ending the India-Pakistan crisis, first disclosed through a Truth Social post. It came on April 22 following the terrorist attack by a Pakistan-supported organization in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Although Trump attributed the intervention of the US in achieving the ceasefire, India said the dispute was brought to an end through an "understanding" between the two nations.
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