For the first time in weeks, US President Donald Trump refrained from taking credit for preventing a potential war between India and Pakistan, instead saying the two “very smart” leaders had themselves decided to avoid escalation.
Trump made the remarks during an interaction with reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, after hosting Pakistan’s Army chief General Asim Munir for lunch at the White House.
“The reason I had him here, I want to thank him for not going into the war, ending the war. And I want to thank, as you know, Prime Minister Modi just left a little while ago, and we’re working on a trade deal with India. We’re working on a trade deal with Pakistan,” said Trump.
Apparently referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and General Asim Munir, Trump said he was glad the leaders of India and Pakistan, both “very smart people,” chose to step back from a conflict that could have turned nuclear.
“They were both here, but I was with Modi a few weeks ago. He was here actually, but now we speak to him. And I’m so happy that two smart people, plus you know, people on their staff too, but two smart people, two very smart people decided not to keep going with that war. That could have been a nuclear war. Those are two nuclear powers, big ones, big, big nuclear powers, and they decided that,” he added.
