Washington DC/IBNS: US President Donald Trump has once again said he stopped a potential nuclear war between hostile Asian neighbours India and Pakistan with trade despite New Delhi's repeated rejections of such claims made by Washington in the past.

Speaking to the press, Trump said he was proud of the fact that he could avert the war with trade and not bullets.

The President announced he is set to strike separate trade deals with both Pakistan and India, which were engaged in a fierce military conflict from May 7-10.

Trump said, "I think the deal I'm most proud of is the fact that we're dealing with India, we're dealing with Pakistan, and we were able to stop potentially a nuclear war through trade as opposed through bullets. You know, normally they do it through bullets.

"We do it through trade. So I'm very proud of that. Nobody talks about it. But we had a very nasty potential war going on between Pakistan and India. And now, if you look, they're doing fine."

He added, "Pakistan representatives are coming in next week. We're very close to making a deal with India. And I wouldn't have any interest in making a deal with either if they were going to be at war with each other..."

'US was in the United States': Jaishankar junks Trump's India-Pak mediation claims

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar earlier said it was Pakistan that had reached out to India for a deal to cease the military conflicts, rubbishing Trump's claims that he had acted as a mediator.

Speaking to Netherlands-based broadcaster NOS, Jaishankar had said, "It was the Pakistani army which sent a message that they were ready to stop firing, and we responded accordingly."

Regarding Washington's involvement in the ceasefire, the minister said, "The US was in the United States."

"We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the United States but to everyone, saying if the Pakistanis want to stop fighting, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their general has to call up our general and say this. And that is what happened," he added.

In a complete surprise, Trump had announced that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, who were engaged in a military conflict for three days from May 7.

Later, both India and Pakistan had confirmed the ceasefire agreement.

Not just the US involvement, the India government had categorically rejected Trump's claim that he had used trade as an incentive for the ceasefire deal.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said India and the US discussed the then undergoing military operation but trade was not the subject in any of those discussions.

"From the time of Operation Sindoor commenced on May 7 till the understanding of cessation of firing and military action on May 10, there were conversations between India and US leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions," Jaiswal said.

But in a completely contrasting claim, Trump said, "I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’ll do a trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade."

"And all of a sudden, they said, I think we’re going to stop," the US President said and added, "For a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one."

In a retaliation against the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor hitting nine terrorist bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The military conflict escalated after Pakistan targeted civilians across the borders without any provocation to be aptly countered by the Indian military.