THE Indian government has disputed US President Donald Trump’s claim that the US-mediated ceasefire between India and Pakistan came about in part because he had offered possible trade concessions.

Addressing a weekly news conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said top leaders in New Delhi and Washington had been in touch last week following the Indian military’s intense standoff with Pakistan, but that there had been no conversation on trade.

“The issue of trade didn’t come up in any of these discussions,” Mr Jaiswal said, referring to talks between US Vice-President JD Vance and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.

Following Saturday’s understanding between India and Pakistan to stop military action on land, in the air and at sea, Mr Trump told reporters on Monday that he had offered to help both nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate.

“I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’ll do a trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade’,” the US president claimed. 

“And all of a sudden, they said, I think we’re going to stop,” he added, saying the both nations’ decision had been taken “for a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one.”

The militaries of India and Pakistan had been engaged in one of their most serious confrontations in decades since last Wednesday, when India struck targets inside Pakistan that it alleged were affiliated with militants responsible for the massacre of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir last month. 

Pakistan has denied having any links to the attackers.

After India’s strikes in Pakistan, the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other’s territories, mainly targeting military installations and air bases.

Mr Trump also claimed that he not only helped mediate the ceasefire but also offered mediation over the dispute in Kashmir, a Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan which both claim in its entirety. 

On Tuesday, New Delhi also declined Mr Trump’s offer of mediation.

“We have a long-standing national position that any issues related to the federally controlled union territory of Jammu and Kashmir must be addressed by India and Pakistan bilaterally. There has been no change to the stated policy,” Mr Jaiswal said.