US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed he pressured India and Pakistan into accepting a ceasefire over the weekend by threatening to cut off trade with both countries.
“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,’” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
“And all of a sudden they said, ‘I think we’re going to stop,’” he continued, crediting trade leverage for influencing both nations’ decisions. “For a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one,” he added.
Trump said he believed his intervention helped avert what he believes could have escalated into a nuclear conflict between the two countries.
“We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed,” he said.
He also confirmed that the US will “do a lot of trade” with both countries, adding that negotiations with India are ongoing while talks with Pakistan will begin shortly.
