On Saturday, my administration helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire, I think a permanent one between India and Pakistan, ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons. And they were going at it hot and heavy, and it was seemingly not going to stop.
And, I’m very proud to let you know that the leadership of India and Pakistan was unwavering, powerful, but unwavering in both cases. And having these, they really were, from the standpoint of having the strength and the wisdom and fortitude to fully know and to understand the gravity of the situation.
And, we helped a lot and we helped also with trade. I said, ‘come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it we’ll do a trade. If you don’t stop it we’re not going to do any trade.’ People have never really used trade the way I used it, that I can tell you. And all of a sudden they said, ‘I think we’re going to stop.’ And they have.
And they did it for a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one. We’re going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan. We’re going to do a lot of trade with India. We’re negotiating with India right now. We’re going to be soon negotiating with Pakistan. And we stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it would have, it could have been a bad nuclear war.”
The military operations chiefs of India and Pakistan spoke by phone on Monday (May 12), the Indian army said, as New Delhi reopened airports and shares rose in both countries following a ceasefire that paused days of intense fighting last week.
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There were no reports of explosions or projectiles fired overnight, with the Indian army saying Sunday was the first peaceful night along their border in recent days.
Saturday’s ceasefire, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, followed four days of intense exchanges of fire as the nuclear-armed arch rivals targeted each other’s military installations with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians.
Leaders of India and Pakistan were “unwavering,” and the U.S. “helped a lot,” Trump said on Monday, adding that trade was a “big reason” why the countries stopped fighting.
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Pakistan has thanked the U.S. for brokering the ceasefire while India, which opposes third-party involvement in its disputes with Pakistan, has not commented on Washington’s role.