Modi says Trump did not mediate Pakistan ceasefire
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Donald Trump that the ceasefire between New Delhi and Pakistan last month was worked out directly, a top Indian diplomat said yesterday.
The US president had said that the two nuclear-armed neighbours had agreed to end a fourday conflict on May 10 after "a long night of talks mediated by the United States".
sfdsaf
It was their worst standoff since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides.
Officials from Islamabad and New Delhi confirmed the ceasefire on May 10, minutes after Trump posted the announcement on his Truth Social network.
Indian officials said immediately that the ceasefire was worked out bilaterally, not with Washington.
India's top career diplomat, Vikram Misri, said in a video statement on Wednesday that the leaders had spoken by telephone after Trump left early from the G7 summit in Canada, which Modi also attended.
sff
"Prime Minister Modi clearly conveyed to President Trump that at no point during this entire sequence of events was there any discussion, at any level, on an India-US Trade Deal, or any proposal for a mediation by the US between India and Pakistan," Misri said, speaking in Hindi.
"The discussion to cease military action took place directly between India and Pakistan through the existing channels of communication between the two armed forces, and it was initiated at Pakistan's request."
The last time Modi and Trump spoke was just after the April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administrated Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan -- claims Islamabad denied.
Misri repeated New Delhi's long held view that "India does not and will never accept mediation".
He added that Trump said he would visit India for the next Quad alliance, the grouping that also includes Japan and Australia, expected later this year.
"President Trump accepted the invitation and said that he is looking forward to visiting India", Misri added.
The talks between the leaders come as India seeks to secure an interim agreement to shield it from the worst of Trump's socalled reciprocal tariffs, which are set to kick in July after a 90-day-pause.
New Delhi is not an export powerhouse, but it ran up a $45.7 billion trade surplus with the United States in 2024.
Analysts have indicated that tariff risks could impact India's economic outlook, with industry groups in sectors like gems and jewellery warning of potentially significant job losses.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
2 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
California governor files $787 mn defamation suit against Fox News
Los Angeles California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit Friday against broadcaster Fox News, claiming defamation after alleged purposeful misrepresentation of details of a phone call with US President Donald Trump earlier this month. The suit seeks $787 million in damages and was filed in a Delaware court, where Fox News is registered as a corporation. Trump and Newsom spoke on the phone in the early hours of June 7 Washington time, but the pair did not address protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids occurring throughout Los Angeles, according to the lawsuit. Later that day, Republican Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops to deploy to the city in response to the protests, against the wishes of the Democratic governor. Trump said during a June 10 White House press conference that he talked with Newsom 'a day ago' -- a claim the California politician quickly refuted on social media. 'There was no call. Not even a voicemail,' Newsom wrote on X. In response, Fox News host Jesse Watters claimed Newsom was lying about the call. Another Fox News reporter, John Roberts, said Trump sent him a call log to prove Newsom was lying, but the screenshot he provided showed the call happened on June 7. 'Rather than leave the matter alone, or simply provide the facts, Fox News chose to defame Governor Newsom, branding him a liar,' the lawsuit said. Newsom told broadcaster MeidasTouch he was used to criticism from Fox News, 'but this crossed the line -- journalistic lines, ethical lines, defamation, malice.' The lawsuit said Fox News deliberately mislead viewers about the call to harm Newsom's career, saying those who watched Watters's report would be less likely to support his future campaigns. Fox News called the lawsuit a 'publicity stunt.' It said in a statement to AFP that the legal action 'is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him.' Newsom in a statement compared his case to a 2023 lawsuit against Fox News filed by election technology company Dominion Voting Systems, which said the broadcaster knowingly spread lies that its voting machines swayed the 2020 presidential election against Trump.
Daily Tribune
2 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Trump ends trade talks with Canada over tax hitting US tech firms
President Donald Trump said yesterday he is calling off trade negotiations with Canada in retaliation for taxes impacting US tech firms, adding that Ottawa will learn of their new tariff rate within a week. Trump was referring to Canada's digital services tax, which was enacted last year and forecast to bring in Can$5.9 billion (US$4.2 billion) over five years. While the measure is not new, US service providers will be "on the hook for a multi-billion dollar payment in Canada" come June 30, noted the Computer & Communications Industry Association recently. The three percent tax applies to large or multinational companies such as Alphabet, Amazon and Meta that provide digital services to Canadians, and Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the matter. "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Friday. Canada may have been spared some of Trump's sweeping duties, but it faces a separate tariff regime. Trump has also imposed steep levies on imports of steel, aluminum and autos. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa will adjust its 25% counter tariffs on US steel and aluminum -- in response to a doubling of US levies on the metals to 50% -- if a bilateral trade deal was not reached in 30 days. "We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians," Carney said Friday, adding that he had not spoken to Trump on the day. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Washington had hoped Carney's government would halt the tax "as a sign of goodwill." He now expects US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to start a probe to determine the harm stemming from Canada's digital tax. China progress Trump's salvo targeting Canada came shortly after Washington and Beijing confirmed finalizing a framework to move forward on trade. A priority for Washington in talks with Beijing had been ensuring the supply of the rare earths essential for products including electric vehicles, hard drives and national defense equipment. China, which dominates global production of the elements, began requiring export licenses in early April, a move widely viewed as a response to Trump's blistering tariffs. Both sides agreed after talks in Geneva in May to temporarily lower steep tit-for-tat duties on each other's products. China also committed to easing some non-tariff countermeasures but US officials later accused Beijing of violating the pact and slow-walking export license approvals for rare earths. They eventually agreed on a framework to move forward with their Geneva consensus, following talks in London this month. A White House official told AFP on Thursday that the Trump administration and China had "agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement." This clarification came after the US president told an event that Washington had inked a deal relating to trade with China, without providing details. Under the deal, China "will review and approve applications for the export control items that meet the requirements in accordance with the law," China's commerce ministry said. "The US side will correspondingly cancel a series of restrictive measures against China," it added.
Daily Tribune
16 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Iran holds state funeral for top brass slain in Israel war
Iran held a state funeral Saturday for some 60 scientists and commanders killed in its war with Israel, after its top diplomat condemned the latest White House tirade against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. State television aired footage of thousands of black-clad mourners chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" as they held aloft photographs of the dead. "Boom, boom, Tel Aviv," read one banner, referring to the retaliatory missile fire launched by Iran against Israel during their 12-day war. State television showed mock-ups of ballistic missiles like those Iran fired at Israel alongside coffins draped in Iranian flags. President Masoud Pezeshkian attended the ceremony as did Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Khamenei who used a walking cane after being wounded in an Israeli strike in the war, the television images showed. But the supreme leader himself stayed away. Khamenei had delivered a video address on Thursday to proclaim "victory" in the conflict which ended with a truce earlier this week. - No surrender - As the funeral procession wound its way across the spawling metropolis, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi paid tribute to the war effort in a post on his Instagram account. "Iranians gave blood, not land; gave their loved ones, not honour; they withstood a thousand-ton rain of bombs, but did not surrender," the top diplomat said, adding that Iran does not recognise the word "surrender." Among the dead was armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri, who will be buried with his wife and journalist daughter who were killed alongside him. Nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, also killed in the attacks, will be laid to rest with his wife. Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami, killed on the first day of the war, will be buried on Sunday. Of the 60 people who are to be laid to rest after the ceremony, four are children and four are women. - 'RUN to 'Daddy'' - The United States carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, joining its ally Israel's bombardment of Iran's nuclear facilities. Both Israel and Iran claimed victory in the war. Israel said it had "thwarted Iran's nuclear project" and threatened renewed military action if it attempted to rebuild it. Washington insisted its strikes had set Iran's nuclear programme back by years. Khamenei said they had done "nothing significant". Trump launched an outspoken tirade against the Iranian leader on his Truth Social platform on Friday for claiming to have won the war. The US president claimed that he had had known "EXACTLY where (Khamenei) was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces... terminate his life". "I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!'" Trump said. Trump said he had been working in recent days on the possible removal of sanctions against Iran, one of Tehran's main demands. "But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more." The Iranian foreign minister hit back on Saturday, using the US president's trademark capitals. "If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei," Araghchi posted on X. "The Great and Powerful Iranian People, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had NO CHOICE but to RUN to 'Daddy' to avoid being flattened by our Missiles, do not take kindly to Threats and Insults." Israeli strikes killed at least 627 civilians, the Iranian health ministry said. Iran's retaliatory fire on Israel killed 28 people, according to Israeli figures. After the US strikes, Trump said new nuclear talks with Iran were set to begin next week. But Iran denied any such plan, and its parliament passed legislation this week suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency.
