‘Trump used trade in a very powerful way as leverage’: White House again claims US President ended India-Pak conflict

The White House again claimed US President Donald Trump ended the conflict between India and Pakistan — despite repeated rejection from New Delhi. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt detailed the conflicts that President Trump resolved in the past few months as she spoke at great length about Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and also the European leaders. “We’ve seen it with the end of the conflict between India and Pakistan, which could have resulted in a nuclear war if we had not had a President who believed in the strength and the leverage that comes with the job of being the President of the United States of America,” Leavitt said, detailing the seven global conflicts. Leavitt was asked which peace deals Trump is most proud of. Leavitt said she would have to ask President Trump for the answer but she’s certain that Trump is proud of each one of them. After mentioning Armenia-Azerbaijan and Rwanda and the Republic of Congo, the White House spokesperson mentioned India and Pakistan and said, “President Trump used trade in a powerful way as a leverage to bring that conflict to an end.”Leavitt made another mention of India as she spoke about tariffs. “The President has put tremendous public pressure to bring this war to a close. He has taken actions as you seen sanctions on India and other actions as well. He has made himself very clear that he wants to see this war end,” she added.Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India to be effective from August 27. A US team was set to visit India for negotiations, but it reportedly deferred the visit. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent also accused India of “profiteering” by reselling Russian oil. In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said India is reselling and making a profit. “This is what I would call the Indian arbitrage — buying cheap Russian oil, reselling it as product. They’sve made $16 billion in excess profits — some of the richest families in India,” he said.