India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, told US President Donald Trump in a phone call that May's ceasefire between India and Pakistan was achieved through direct talks between the militaries and not with US mediation.
That's according to leading Indian diplomat Vikram Misri, who released a video statement after the phone call on Wednesday.
The call was the first conversation between the two leaders since April 22, when Trump called Modi to express condolences for the 26 civilians killed in the Pahalgam attack in Indian-Administered Kashmir, the Foreign Secretary said.
"PM Modi told President Trump, in clear terms, that there was no talk of an India-US trade deal or any US mediation at any point during the time frame between the April 22 attack and the ceasefire on May 10. Ceasefire talks took place directly between the militaries of India and Pakistan, through their existing channels. That too, at the request of Pakistan," Misri said in the statement.
"PM Modi strongly emphasized that India has never accepted third-party mediation and nor will it in the future."
As for Trump's response, the diplomat said the US President "understood" the points put forward by Modi during the 35-minute conversation and extended his support to counter terrorism. He did not give further details about what Trump said.
Why is US mediation a point of contention?
Last month, Trump has said that the nuclear-armed neighbors had agreed to a ceasefire after a four-day conflict after talks mediated by the US.
Since then, he has claimed several times that the hostilities ceased after he urged the leaders to focus on a trade deal with the US.
Trump's claims were vehemently denied by India which maintains a no-interferance policy in all matter concerning the disputed region of Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for his "pathbreaking leadership and committment to global peace". At the same time it said it the ceasefire was agreed upon after Pakistani military returned a call the Indian military had initiated.
The somewhat contradictory narratives not only caused confusion, but have also been a point of anger among Indians in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
What else did Trump and Modi talk about?
As per Misri's statement, Modi told Trump that India now considers cross-border terrorism as an act of war, not as proxy-war. The prime minister added that the operation against terrorists was still ongoing.
Trump reportedly asked if Modi would stop by the Washington after his trip to the G7 summit in Canada. The two leaders were set to meet on the final day of the summit but the meeting was cancelled after Trump left early due to tensions in the Middle East.
Modi declined the invitation as he is due in Croatia for the third leg of a European diplomatic outreach. The two leaders agreed to meet in person, soon, Misri said.
