India again rejects Trump’s claim of brokering ceasefire with Pak

India on Thursday once again rejected US President Donald Trump’s repeated claim that he brokered a ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad, reaffirming that any engagement between the two countries must be bilateral and contingent on the condition that “talks and terror don’t go together”.

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Speaking during a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump claimed he used trade to diffuse tensions between India and Pakistan. This marks the eighth time in 11 days that the US President has made such a claim.

Responding to the remarks, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “You are well aware of our position that any India-Pakistan engagement has to be bilateral.”

Earlier, Trump, speaking at the White House’s Oval Office, during a meeting with Ramaphosa, said, “If you take a look at what we just did with Pakistan and India. We settled that whole, and I think I settled it through trade.”

Trump added, “And I said, ‘What are you guys doing?’ Somebody had to be the last one to shoot. But the shooting was getting worse and worse, bigger and bigger, deeper and deeper into the countries. And we spoke to them, and I think we, you know, I hate to say we got it settled, and then two days later, something happens, and they say it’s Trump’s fault.”

Trump praised leaders of both countries, saying, “But... Pakistan has got some excellent people and some really good, great leader. And India is my friend, Modi,” to which Ramaphosa replied, “Modi, mutual friend.” Trump added, “He’s a great guy and I called them both. It’s something good.”