NEW DELHI, Sep 23: US President Donald Trump claimed credit again on Tuesday for ending the India-Pakistan conflict, which has been discounted by New Delhi, while repeating his lament for not getting the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I ended seven wars, and in all cases, they were raging, with countless thousands of people being killed,” he said in a rambling address to the General Assembly’s high-level session.
That includes the “violent war that was Pakistan and India”, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told Trump in a June phone call that it was mutually settled between India and Pakistan without his claimed involvement.
India says that Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Kashif Abdullah called his Indian counterpart, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, offering a truce.
Among the other wars Trump said he ended was that between Israel and Iran, although the hostilities continue, and there is no peace deal between them.
He blamed the UN for not doing enough to stop wars.
“It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them,” he said. “And sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help.”
Trump also accused India and China of financing Russia to carry on the war against Ukraine.
Although he has imposed a punitive tariff of 25 per cent only against India, he threatened the NATO allies and the European Union with drastic action if Russia doesn’t end the war.
“Inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy and Russian energy products, which, as you know, I found out about two weeks ago, and I wasn’t happy,” he said.
“Think of it, they’re funding the war against themselves.”
“In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly,” he said.
“But for those tariffs to be effective, European nations, all of you are gathered here right now, would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures,” he said.
Trump piled on criticism of the UN for what he said were its inefficiencies and inefficacy in keeping the peace.
As if to make his point, the teleprompter at the podium failed, setting him off on a mostly impromptu speech, and the escalator stopped midway. (IANS)
