'Was in room when Vance spoke to PM Modi': Jaishankar recalls May 9 call, rejects Trump's mediation claim

S Jaishankar

External affairs minister S Jaishankar has again rejected US President Donald Trump's claims of mediation in the India-Pakistan conflict, saying that he was in the room when Vice President JD Vance called Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking during a fireside chat with Newsweek, Jaishankar recalled the conversation between PM Modi and Vance on the night of May 9 when the Prime Minister clearly told the US Vice President that India will respond strongly in case of a Pakistani attack.

"In terms of what has been our position, yes, we have for many years it's not a position just of this government in Delhi, I mean it's been a national consensus that our dealings with Pakistan are bilateral and in this particular case, I can tell you that when I was in the room when Vice President Vance spoke to Prime Minister Modi on the night of 9th May saying that you know the Pakistanis would launch a very massive assault on India if we did not accept certain things and the prime minister was impervious to what the Pakistanis were threatening to do ... on the contrary he (PM Modi) indicated that there would be a response from us ... this was the night before," he said.

Jaishankar added: "Something the Pakistanis did was attack us massively that night, we responded very quickly thereafter, and the next morning, Mr Rubio called me up and said the Pakistanis were ready to talk. So, I can only tell you from my personal experience what happened."

Earlier, foreign secretary Vikram Misri revealed that when Vance warned Modi of a possible attack from Pakistan, the Prime Minister responded that India would retaliate with greater force if such an attack occurred.

"On the night of May 9, US Vice President Vance called PM Modi, warning that Pakistan might launch a major attack on India. PM Modi responded firmly, stating that if that were to happen, India would respond with even greater force," Misri said.

India's attack on Pakistan's air bases marked a turning point in the four-day conflict between the two countries, prompting the Pakistani DGMO to reach out to his Indian counterpart.

Despite India's denials, Trump has repeatedly claimed to have brokered peace between India and Pakistan after India launched Operation Sindoor.

Jaishankar also said that Trump's claims of using trade as a means of resolving the India-Pakistan conflict did not impact trade negotiations between the two countries.

" No, I don't think so. I think the trade people are doing what the trade people should be doing, which is negotiating with numbers and lines and products and making their tradeoffs. I think they're very professional and very focused about it," he said.