Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has firmly rejected any suggestion of third-party mediation on the Kashmir dispute, telling U.S. President Donald Trump that the matter is strictly bilateral and will not involve external intervention, India’s top diplomat confirmed.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri revealed that Modi “strongly” reiterated India’s longstanding position during a phone call with Trump on Tuesday. This came after repeated public offers by Trump to mediate between India and Pakistan following a recent four-day military standoff in May between the two nuclear-armed nations.
The White House has yet to issue a response to India’s statement.
According to Misri, Modi made it clear to Trump that no discussions regarding U.S.-led mediation or trade negotiations were held during the conflict period. This directly contradicts Trump’s earlier claims that he had used trade negotiations to pressure both countries into accepting a ceasefire.
Trump has maintained that the ceasefire was brokered by the U.S., a view Pakistan supports. India, however, has denied any such involvement by Washington.
“The talks leading to cessation of hostilities were held directly between Indian and Pakistani military channels already in place,” Misri clarified.
Last month, Trump had told reporters, “I said, ‘We’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. But you need to stop this. If you stop it, we’ll proceed with trade. If not, no trade.’” India, meanwhile, is working to finalize a trade agreement with the U.S. before a July 9 deadline, when a pause on higher tariffs is set to expire.
India Reasserts Kashmir as a Domestic Matter
The Kashmir region remains a deeply sensitive issue between India and Pakistan, both of which claim it in full but control it in part. Despite decades of bilateral talks, a resolution remains elusive. India insists that Kashmir is an internal matter and firmly opposes any third-party involvement.
Tensions soared after India accused Pakistan of orchestrating an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, resulting in 26 deaths. Pakistan denied any involvement. In response, India launched airstrikes in May targeting what it called terrorist infrastructure inside Pakistan. This led to four days of intense cross-border military activity, with both sides accusing each other of targeting military sites and airbases.
On May 10, Trump announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire,” attributing the agreement to U.S. diplomatic efforts. He later posted on Truth Social, stating, “I will work with you both to see if, after a thousand years, a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir”—despite the Kashmir dispute dating back only to 1947.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the sentiment, announcing that both countries had also agreed to initiate broader discussions at a neutral venue. On May 11, Trump again praised both Modi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister, saying he was “proud the U.S. helped achieve this historic and heroic decision.”
Pakistan’s foreign minister later claimed that the ceasefire was facilitated by diplomatic efforts involving over 30 countries. India, however, has consistently maintained that the resolution was bilateral and independent of outside mediation.
Diplomatic Fallout
Analysts say Trump’s persistent public comments on Kashmir have tested India’s diplomatic boundaries, particularly its resistance to being equated with Pakistan in global discourse. New Delhi has long advised its Western partners against viewing India and Pakistan as equals or visiting both countries in a single trip.
Trump’s equal treatment of India and Pakistan in his statements has reportedly unsettled diplomatic circles in Delhi. However, experts say it remains to be seen whether this tension will spill over into the ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and India.
