New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear to US President Donald J. Trump during a call between the two leaders Tuesday that at no point during Operation Sindoor last month, was trade or mediation on the India-Pakistan issue discussed with the US administration.
Trump had invited Modi for a stop-over visit to Washington D.C. on his way back from the G7 Summit in Canada, which was declined by the Indian prime minister due to his scheduled visit to Croatia on 18 June.
PM Modi informed Trump during the call that the understanding reached between New Delhi and Islamabad to halt military action was achieved between “existing channels” of the two armies, and was at the “request of Pakistan”, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a statement, just as Modi was set to depart Canada for Croatia. At the G7 summit, Modi held a number of meetings, including with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney.
The US administration was the first to announce that both India and Pakistan had agreed to halt their military operations on the evening of 10 May, and President Trump has, at least 14 times in public, taken credit for the same, claiming that he had used “trade” to arrive at the understanding. Trump’s claims have since become a political issue domestically for Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, with opposition parties escalating the matter.
“Prime Minister Modi made it clear to President Trump that during this entire episode [Operation Sindoor], at no time, at any level, were issues such as India-US trade deal or mediation by the US between India and Pakistan discussed,” Misri said in the statement. “Prime Minister Modi stressed that India has never accepted mediation, does not accept it, and will never accept it. There is complete political unanimity in India on this issue.”
This is the first call between the two leaders since India launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May. The two leaders had spoken in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on 22 April, which left at least 26 people dead.
According to Misri, both Modi and Trump were scheduled to meet on the margins of the G7 leaders’ summit in Canada, however, the US president cut short his visit a day early, and left Monday evening due to the situation in West Asia.
Both Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar were in touch with Vice President J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State and National Security Adviser, during the conflict with Pakistan between 7 May and 10 May.
“On the night of 9 May, Vice President Vance called Prime Minister Modi. Vice President Vance had said that Pakistan could launch a major attack on India. Prime Minister Modi had told him in clear words that if this happens, India will give an even bigger response to Pakistan,” said Misri.
India’s response “forced” Pakistan to urge India to “halt military action”, Modi told Trump, according to the foreign secretary.
As recently as Monday, Trump had claimed that Iran and Israel will make a deal, like the one he had helped India and Pakistan achieve to bring a halt to military action last month. At various fora, including during his visit to West Asia, he has taken credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire.
“President Trump understood the points made in detail by the Prime Minister and expressed support for India’s fight against terrorism. PM Modi also said that India no longer views terrorism as a proxy war, and India’s Operation Sindoor is still ongoing,” said Misri.
The American president has been focused on the situation in West Asia, calling for the unconditional surrender of Iran, following the nearly six days of military back-and-forth between Tel Aviv and Tehran.
Modi and Trump also discussed the situation in West Asia, as well as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed about the necessity for “direct” dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv to bring a conclusion to the war. The Indian prime minister invited Trump to India for the next Quad leaders’ summit, an invitation that the American president accepted, according to Misri.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)