 "US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House in Washington, DC. Despite their friendship, Trump is going ahead and levying a whopping 50 per cent tariff on India, which comes into effect on August 27. File image/AFP")
US President Donald Trump claimed credit for halting hostilities between India and Pakistan in May and, during a 17 June phone call, sought New Delhi’s support for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
According to the report, nearly a month after the conflict, Trump told Prime Minister Narendra Modi “how proud he was of ending the military escalation” and “mentioned that Pakistan was going to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize”, citing interviews with sources in New Delhi and Washington.
“The not-so-subtle implication, according to people familiar with the call, was that Mr Modi should do the same,” it added.
PM Modi rejected third-party role
PM Modi is said to have replied that US involvement “had nothing to do with the recent cease-fire,” insisting the matter was “settled directly between India and Pakistan.”
The Times noted that Trump brushed off Modi’s comments, but the disagreement, and Modi’s refusal to engage on the Nobel, has played a significant role in straining ties between the two leaders.
The White House also did not acknowledge that such a conversation took place, and Trump made no mention of it publicly.
Trump eager to claims credit
India has consistently rejected third-party mediation in disputes with Pakistan. The US, however, has stepped in at key moments – during the Kargil war in 1999 and after the Pulwama attack in 2019 – to help defuse tensions.
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View AllTrump was the first to announce the end of hostilities on 10 May, with a US readout describing it as a ceasefire brokered by Washington. Since then, he has repeatedly claimed he persuaded India and Pakistan to halt fighting, even suggesting he used the threat of ending trade with both countries.
Tariffs deepen rift
Weeks after the June call, while trade deal talks were still underway, Trump announced a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods. He later added another 25 per cent punitive tariff over India’s purchase of Russian oil, further souring ties.
Trump’s Nobel obsession
Trump has also continued to argue that he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his global peace efforts. “I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the war between India and Pakistan,” he posted in June. “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do.”