US President Trump has told guests of a Diwali event in Washington that he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over phone, advising the right-wing Indian leader against going to war with Pakistan.
Modi said on Wednesday he had held a conversation with Trump and thanked the US leader for the call, saying on X that he hoped "our two great democracies continue to illuminate the world with hope."
Modi didn't mention whether the leaders discussed Pakistan.
"I just spoke to your Prime Minister today," Trump told attendees at the Oval Office on Tuesday.
"We had a great conversation. We talked about trade ... Although we did talk a little while ago about let's have no wars with Pakistan. And I think the fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that. And we have no war with Pakistan and India. That was a very, very good thing."
Relations plummeted in August when Trump raised tariffs on Indian exports to the United States to 50 percent and US officials accused India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine by buying Moscow's discounted oil.
India has yet to secure a formal trade deal with the United States, despite being among the first nations to initiate negotiations with Washington after Trump began his second term.
Trump also repeated his claim — first made on October 15 — that India would cut Russian oil purchases. New Delhi has neither confirmed nor denied any policy shift.
New Delhi started buying heavily discounted Russian crude in 2022, taking advantage of Western sanctions that limited Moscow's export options.
'Seven planes were shot down'
Several other sources of friction have strained Washington's relationship with India this year.
They include Trump's assertions that he achieved a ceasefire between India and Pakistan to end an intense four-day conflict over the contested region of Kashmir in May. Modi has said there was no such mediation by a world leader.
Pakistani leaders state that Trump and his team were involved in mediation efforts. Islamabad has nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on two occasions, asserting that without Trump's mediation, millions would have been killed in South Asia.
The clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours followed an attack in April in India-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad, which denied the allegations and sought an international probe, which India rejected.
In the aftermath, Indian jets bombed several areas of Pakistan on May 7, killing dozens of people including children, and triggering air-to-air combat, drone strikes, missile attacks, and artillery exchanges.
During the clashes, Pakistan said it shot down six Indian fighter jets, including the French-made Rafale. New Delhi initially rejected Pakistani claims but later acknowledged losses, without specifying how many jets were downed.
In May, Indian General Anil Chauhan conceded that the Indian Air Force lost some fighter jets in clashes with Pakistan on May 7. Later, Indian Navy Captain Shiv Kumar also acknowledged, "I do agree we did lose some aircraft."
The "full and immediate" halt to four-day hostilities was unexpectedly announced by Trump on social media, following which both sides silenced their guns.
In September, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly that the Pakistani Air Force turned "seven Indian jets" into scrap.
Trump has since maintained that "seven planes were shot down" and that he "settled the war" between Pakistan and India using trade threats.
