In a sharp rebuke to claims made by US President Donald Trump, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has categorically denied any link between the ongoing US-India trade negotiations and the military ceasefire that followed a tense four-day confrontation between India and Pakistan in May. The clarification comes as Washington and New Delhi scramble to finalize a trade agreement ahead of a looming July 9 deadline, under the threat of reciprocal tariffs.

President Trump has repeatedly stated that his administration used trade incentives as leverage to persuade both India and Pakistan to step back from the brink of war. According to the president, the US played the role of a mediator by offering enhanced trade deals to both countries in exchange for de-escalation. However, Jaishankar, who is currently in Washington attending a summit of the Quad foreign ministers, dismissed this characterization as inaccurate and misleading.

“I think the trade people are doing what the trade people should be doing, which is negotiate with numbers and lines and products and do their trade-offs,” Jaishankar toldNewsweek. “I think they are very professional and very, very focused about it.”

Jaishankar’s comments come amid a high-stakes diplomatic balancing act. With geopolitical tensions simmering in the Indo-Pacific and global supply chains under strain, trade agreements between major powers have become increasingly politicized. Yet the Indian minister stressed the professionalism of negotiators on both sides and emphasized the separation between trade talks and military........

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