Kananaskis (Canada), June 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with President Donald Trump and set the record straight that India had paused strikes on Pakistan during Operation Sindoor following a request from Islamabad and not due to mediation or offer of a trade deal by the US.
In a 35-minute phone call with Trump on Tuesday, Modi briefed the US President on Operation Sindoor, launched by India against terror sites in Pakistan, and made it clear that it has never accepted any third-party mediation and will never accept it in the future.
This was the first conversation between Trump and Modi after the launch of Operation Sindoor last month. The two leaders had spoken after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack when Trump had expressed his condolences and supported India in the fight against terrorism.
“PM Modi clarified that no topics related to trade were discussed in connection with Operation Sindoor. He asserted that India has never accepted third-party mediation and will not accept such mediation,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a statement on the Modi-Trump phone call.
He said Trump invited Modi, who was here to attend the G7 summit, to visit the US on his return journey from Canada. However, Modi said he cannot accept the invitation due to a pre-existing schedule.
Modi invited Trump to visit India for the Quad Summit, likely later this year.
Trump had left the G7 meeting mid-way amid rising hostilities between Israel and Iran.
Misri said Modi and Trump were scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting, but it could not fructify as the US President left early.
He said Trump insisted on having a conversation with Modi, after which the call was set up.
Modi told Trump that he had expressed his resolve to take action against terrorism after the attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
The Prime Minister’s message to Trump comes in the wake of several assertions by the US President that he had ensured cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, a claim rejected by New Delhi outrightly.
The Prime Minister told Trump that India had targeted terror sites inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan on the intervening night of May 6-7.
He made it clear that India’s action was “measured, precise and non-escalatory”.
Modi also told Trump that he had declared that bullets from Pakistan will be responded to with cannon balls (goli ka jawab gole se diya jayega).
Misri said the Prime Minister told Trump that he had received a phone call from US Vice President J D Vance on the night of May 9, cautioning him about a “big strike” by Pakistan.
Modi told Vance clearly that if Pakistan did carry out such an attack, India would respond with an even stronger counter action.
Modi said India responded strongly to Pakistan’s attack on the intervening night of May 9-10, which led to heavy losses to Pakistan’s military infrastructure and rendered their airbases inoperable.
Modi told Trump that India’s strong response to Pakistan forced it to urge India to stop the military campaign.
The Prime Minister told Trump clearly that in this entire chain of events, there was no discussion of an India-US trade deal and there was no reference to US mediation between India and Pakistan, Misri said.
Modi made it clear that the decision to halt military action was taken in direct talks between India and Pakistan using the existing channels and at the insistence of Pakistan.
Prime Minister Modi made it clear firmly that India will not accept any mediation in its dealings with Pakistan, and there is political unanimity on this issue.
Misri said Trump understood the issue after hearing the Prime Minister and expressed support for India’s fight against terrorism.
“Modi told Trump that henceforth India will not treat terrorism as a proxy war but as an act of war and Operation Sindoor was still continuing,” Misri said.
Misri said President Trump and Prime Minister Modi also discussed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
He said regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, both leaders agreed that direct talks between the two sides are essential for peace at the earliest and that efforts toward this should continue.
On the Indo-Pacific region, Trump and Modi shared their perspectives and expressed support for the significant role of the QUAD in the region.
Prime Minister Modi invited President Trump to visit India for the next QUAD meeting, Misri said, adding that the US President accepted the invitation and said that he was eager to visit India. (PTI)
