India rebuffs Trump’s claim of trade leverage in nuclear war prevention

India and the US are currently entangled in a diplomatic knot that may take some time to untangle. US President Donald Trump claimed to have stopped a potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan by leveraging trade. However, India has rebutted this claim, with sources stating that none of the discussions between the US and Indian administrations mentioned trade.

After Operation Sindoor commenced, there were four calls from the US to the Indian administration. Vice President JD Vance spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to the External Affairs Minister twice, on May 8 and May 10. Rubio, who is also the National Security Advisor, called his counterpart Ajit Doval on May 10. According to sources, trade was not referenced in any of these discussions.

In a press briefing at the White House, Trump claimed to have told India and Pakistan, “Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade.”

Trump emphasised his administration’s role in brokering an immediate ceasefire between the two nations, stating, “On Saturday, my administration helped broker an immediate cessation of hostilities, I think a permanent one between India and Pakistan – countries with a lot of nuclear weapons.”

Trump praised the leadership of both countries, saying, “I’m proud to let you know that the leadership of India and Pakistan was unwavering and powerful... they really had the strength, wisdom, and fortitude to understand the gravity of the situation.”

He thanked Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their work, stating, “We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed.”