PM Modi maintains there was no US mediation in ceasefire with Pakistan

NEW DELHI – India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintained in a conversation with US President Donald Trump on June 17 that a

ceasefire between India and Pakistan

after a four-day conflict in May was achieved through talks between the two militaries and not US mediation, India’s senior-most diplomat said.

Mr Trump said in May that the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the US, and that the hostilities ended after he urged them to focus on trade instead of war.

“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,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a press statement.

“Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do,” he added.

Mr Misri said the two leaders spoke over the phone at the insistence of Mr Trump on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Canada which Mr Modi attended as a guest. The call lasted 35 minutes.

Pakistan previously said the ceasefire happened after its military returned a call the Indian military initiated on May 7. REUTERS