US President Donald Trump said he successfully brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan last month, citing the threat of nuclear escalation as the primary motivator.
The ceasefire, reached on May 10, halted the worst military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed nations in decades. The conflict, which saw both sides using fighter jets, drones, missiles, and artillery, led to around 70 casualties.
Tensions had been escalating following an attack on April 22 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists. India subsequently launched airstrikes on Pakistani cities on May 7, accusing Pakistan of being behind the attack, an allegation Islamabad denied, responding with strikes on Indian military targets.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday, where he was hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump revealed the role he played in facilitating the ceasefire.
He said, “I spoke to some very talented people on both sides … and I said, you know, we’re dealing with you on trade, Pakistan and India right now. I said we’re not going to deal with you on trade if you’re going to go shooting each other and whipping out nuclear weapons that maybe even affect us.”
Trump emphasised the threat posed by nuclear conflict, noting, “Because you know that nuclear dust blows across oceans very quickly, it affects us.”
The US president said that his warning about trade deals helped bring an end to the hostilities. “I got that war stopped,” he said, crediting the leadership on both sides for backing off from military confrontation.
Since the ceasefire, Pakistan has continued to express gratitude for Trump’s mediation efforts, while India has rejected the notion that it was influenced by US pressure.
