‘Stopped a potential nuclear war’: Trump repeats rejected India-Pakistan ceasefire claim

US President Donald Trump on Monday once again repeated his rejected claim that he helped avert a military conflict between India and Pakistan earlier this year — which he described as a “potential nuclear war” — saying the only conflict he has yet to resolve is the Russia-Ukraine war.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said there was “tremendous hatred” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, making the conflict harder to end.

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks allegedly mediated by Washington, he has repeated more than 60 times that he “helped settle” tensions between the two neighbours.

India, however, has consistently rejected those claims. New Delhi maintains that the understanding on cessation of hostilities was reached on May 10 following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) of both countries, after Pakistan first sought contact.

India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

What Trump said

During his interaction with reporters on Monday, Trump claimed that eight aircraft were shot down during the four-day India-Pakistan conflict following Operation Sindoor.

Expressing confidence in his record as a dealmaker, Trump said he hoped to end the Russia-Ukraine war after having, according to his claims, resolved multiple other conflicts.

“There is tremendous hatred between President Putin and President Zelenskyy… I have solved eight wars. Thailand is starting to shape up with Cambodia, but I think we have it in pretty good shape. We stopped a potential nuclear war between Pakistan and India. The prime minister of Pakistan said that President Trump saved 10 million lives, maybe more. Eight planes were shot down. That war was starting to rage. The only war I haven’t solved yet is Russia-Ukraine,” Trump said.

India rejects claims on aircraft losses

Claims about Indian fighter jets being shot down during Operation Sindoor began circulating after remarks attributed to an Indian defence attaché following a presentation at a seminar in Indonesia. India later rejected those reports, saying the comments were taken out of context and “misrepresented the intention and thrust” of the presentation.

New Delhi has reiterated that there was no third-party mediation in the India-Pakistan de-escalation and that the ceasefire understanding was reached through direct military-to-military communication.