'Won't say I did it but ...': Trump tones down claims of US brokering India-Pakistan ceasefire

US President Donald Trump addresses troops at the Al-Udeid air base southwest of Doha.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday seemed to be climbing down on his claim to have directly mediated the truce between India and Pakistan to end the military conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries last week.

In his address to troops at al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Trump said, "I won't say I did it, but I sure as hell helped."

Earlier, Reuters reported that during his address to the US troops, Trump said that the hostilities between the two neighbouring countries had settled and they were happy with that. He also said his priority was to "end conflicts not start them".

On May 10, amid heightened military conflict between India and Pakistan, Trump, in a Truth Social post, announced that the two countries had agreed to a "full and immediate ceasefire," following "a long night of talks mediated by the United States."

Later, India's Ministry of External Affairs countered his claim and stated that the military truce was a result of DGMO-level talks between the two countries. The MEA clarified that the truce came after Pakistan's DGMO reached out to his Indian counterpart requesting a ceasefire. This came after India's retaliatory strikes on key military establishments and airbases of Pakistan.

On May 13, Trump said that maybe India and Pakistan can have a "nice dinner together" while stating that his administration brokered the "historic ceasefire" between the two countries through trade.

"They are actually getting along. Maybe we can even get them together where they go out and have a nice dinner together. Wouldn't that be nice?" Trump said at the Saudi Arabia-US Investment Forum 2025 in his visit to the West-Asian nation.

Later that day, the MEA reiterated that the ceasefire agreement was reached directly through military-to-military channels between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan.

It also denied Trump's claim that he might increase trade "substantially" with India and Pakistan. "No discussion on trade with US during Operation Sindoor," the MEA said.

In his address to the nation on May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also snubbed Trump's Kashmir mediation pitch, saying if India ever engages in talks with Pakistan, it would be solely on issues of terrorism or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).