The Congress on Thursday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify the Russian president’s aide’s claim that the hostilities between India and Pakistan were “stopped with the personal participation” of US President Donald Trump.
Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told a briefing on Wednesday that the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan was discussed between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“They also touched upon the Middle East and the armed conflict between India and Pakistan, which was stopped with the personal participation of President Trump,” Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarification over Ushakov’s remarks.
“President Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov has just revealed that the 4-day India-Pakistan conflict came up in the 75-minute telephonic conversation of President Putin and President Trump on June 4th.”
“Mr Ushakov has let it be known that it was the personal involvement of President Trump that halted the armed hostilities between India and Pakistan. Will the PM Narendra Modi clarify?” Ramesh asked.
India’s Operation Sindoor
Operation Sindoor was India’s direct military response to the April 22 terror strike at Pahalgam in Kashmir that killed 26 civilians in what was the worst attack on civilians since the 26/11 Mumbai strikes.
India launched the operation in the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The pre-dawn strikes, which killed at least 100 terrorists, sparked a series of attacks and counterattacks across the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and fierce artillery and rocket duels.
In one such counterattack on the night of May 9-10, the air force struck targets at 13 Pakistani air bases and military installations. After four days of fighting, military hostilities were stopped on May 10 as the two nations reached an understanding.
Since then, Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he was the one who stopped India and Pakistan from fighting.
However, India has maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the two countries’ directors general of military operations (DGMOs).