Trump claims he spoke with PM Modi on trade, extends Diwali greetings to India

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi focused primarily on trade issues. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said, "We talked about a lot of things, but mostly the world of trade."

He added that India would not be purchasing significant quantities of Russian oil in the future, saying, "India’s not going to be buying too much Russian oil."

Addressing a Diwali celebration at the White House, Trump extended greetings to the Indian community and reiterated his comments about the discussion with Modi. "Let me also extend our warmest wishes to the people of India. I just spoke to your Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) today. We had a great conversation. We talked about trade. We talked about a lot of things, but mostly the world of trade. He's very interested in that," he said.

The US President added that the conversation briefly touched on regional peace, noting that he had previously urged both India and Pakistan to avoid conflict.

"Although we did talk a little while ago about let's have no wars with Pakistan. And I think the fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that. And we have no war with Pakistan and India. And that was a very, very good thing," he said.

He praised Modi as "a great person" and "a great friend," recalling his years-long relationship with the PM Modi.

However, India has not confirmed Trump’s latest claims.

The US president had made similar claims a week earlier, saying he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who allegedly assured him that New Delhi would stop buying oil from Russia, calling it "a big step" in his efforts to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

India, however, rejected the statement outright, clarifying that no such conversation had taken place. "There was no phone call between the two leaders yesterday," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

TRUMP DEFENDS HIS TRADE POLICY WITH INDIA

The US president’s remarks come amid ongoing trade tensions between Washington and New Delhi. Trump has imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods in response to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, bringing the total tariff rate on imports from the country to around 50 per cent this year.

Earlier in the day, Trump repeated his use of tariffs, claiming they have not only strengthened the US economy but also prevented potential wars. "I mentioned eight wars. Of the eight, five were based solely on trade and tariffs," he said.

Trump claimed his intervention through trade diplomacy helped avert a major conflict. "India and Pakistan were going at it -- two nuclear powers and serious nuclear. Seven planes shot down. They were ready to go, and I called them up," Trump said.

He recounted warning both nations that military escalation would affect their trade relations with the US. "I said, 'You go to war and we’re not doing a trade deal,'" Trump claimed. "They said, 'What does one have to do with the other?' I said, 'A lot. You’re nuclear powers. If you do it, we’re not doing a trade deal.'"

According to Trump, the warning was effective. "Twenty-four hours later, they called me. 'We’ve decided not to do it,'" he said. "We stopped the war. We stopped a potential disaster, a nuclear disaster, because of trade."

India has consistently rejected US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Indian officials have clarified that the ceasefire understanding was achieved directly through communication between the two countries’ Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs), with no third-party intervention.

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With inputs from agencies