NEW DELHI: Aide to President Putin, Yury Ushakov, said the armed conflict between India and Pakistan, which “has been halted with the personal involvement” of Donald Trump, was discussed over the phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump.
India has denied any third-party role in the cessation of military operations with Pakistan and said it was the talks between the DGMOs (Director General of Military Operations) of the two countries that led to the ceasefire.
Outlining the outcomes of Putin’s phone conversation with Trump, Ushakov said, “Additionally, the Middle East was discussed, as well as the armed conflict between India and Pakistan, which has been halted with the personal involvement of President Trump.”
Though Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for defusing tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours – even suggesting trade was used as leverage – New Delhi has consistently denied, maintaining that ceasefire resulted from direct military-level communication between the two countries.
The phone call between the two leaders lasted around 70 minutes and covered several international flashpoints, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. “What did the conversation begin with? Naturally, it began with a discussion of the situation around Ukraine. Vladimir Putin provided detailed information on the outcomes of the second round of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul,” Ushakov said.
He added that Russia accused Ukraine of attempting to sabotage the talks. Despite this, the Russian delegation did not fall for the “provocations,” and the second round of talks went ahead, Ushakov said.