Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has firmly denied that the United States played any mediating role in the ceasefire between India and Pakistan following a four-day conflict in May, contradicting claims previously made by U.S. President Donald Trump. According to Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Modi clarified in a 35-minute phone conversation with Trump—held late Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada—that the ceasefire was the result of direct military communication between the two South Asian neighbours and not facilitated by the U.S.
Misri emphasized that the talks leading to the cessation of hostilities occurred through existing military channels and were initiated by Pakistan. “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,” Misri said. He also reiterated India’s long-held position of rejecting any third-party involvement in issues related to Pakistan, including Kashmir, which Modi stressed “India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do.”
Trump had earlier asserted that the U.S. helped broker the ceasefire and encouraged both India and Pakistan to focus on trade over conflict. Following the ceasefire, Trump publicly suggested that he was willing to help resolve the Kashmir dispute, referring to it as a “thousand-year-old” problem. However, India maintains that Kashmir is strictly a bilateral matter and has consistently rebuffed any external involvement.
The phone call, reportedly initiated by Trump, has not yet been formally acknowledged by the White House. Meanwhile, Pakistan has also stated that the ceasefire resulted from a military conversation it had returned after India initiated contact on May 7. When asked about India’s dismissal of mediation, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce commented that Trump’s offers are optional: “He offers his help, and it’s up to whoever he is offering it to, to whether or not they’ll accept it.”
This diplomatic exchange adds to the complex web of geopolitical narratives emerging from the G7 summit and casts a spotlight on how global leaders navigate competing claims on sensitive issues like India-Pakistan relations.