India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi told US President Donald Trump late on Tuesday that a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a four-day conflict in May was achieved through talks between the two militaries and not US mediation, according to India's senior-most diplomat.
Trump had announced last month that the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the US, and that the hostilities ended after he urged the countries to focus on trade instead of war.
Prior to the ceasefire heaviest fighting in decades between India and Pakistan was sparked by an April 22 attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that killed 26 people. New Delhi blamed the incident on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan without presenting any evidence. Islamabad denied the claims and called for an independent probe.
On May 7, India attacked Pakistan as part of its "Operation Sindoor", triggering tit-for-tat strikes spread over four days in which both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery.
While Pakistan supported Trump’s account of events, India denied any third-party mediation. Tuesday’s phone call between Modi and Trump—held on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, where Modi attended as a guest—marked their first direct exchange since the May 7–10 conflict.
"PM Modi told President Trump clearly that during this period, there was no talk at any stage on subjects like India-US trade deal or US mediation between India and Pakistan," Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a press statement.
"Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do," he said.
However, Modi’s claim that the decision to de-escalate was made on the call of Pakistan’s military has raised questions about the rationale behind the offensive in the first place with the the assertion appearing to potentially undercut New Delhi's own stance.
Read: 'I got that war stopped': Trump on Pakistan-India ceasefire
Misri said the two leaders were due to meet on the sidelines of G7 summit but Trump left a day early due to the situation in the Middle East. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Modi-Trump call.
Pakistan has previously said that the ceasefire happened after its military returned a call the Indian military had initiated.
Misri said that Trump expressed his support for India's fight against terrorism and that Modi told him India's Operation Sindoor under which it launched the cross border strikes was still on.
Trump also asked Modi if he could stop by the US on his return from Canada, Misri said, but the Indian leader expressed his inability to do so due to a pre-decided schedule.
He invited Trump to visit India later this year for the summit of the leaders of the Quad grouping, which Trump accepted, Misri said.
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