Modi furious at Trump's Nobel plea, NYT reveals behind-the-scenes clash
Photo: US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi clashed over the Nobel Prize after Trump demanded that Modi nominate him for the award. The request reportedly angered the Indian leader, The New York Times reports.
Trump has repeatedly claimed in public that he personally resolved the military conflict between India and Pakistan in May. However, the conflict between the two countries has persisted for 75 years and is far more complex than Trump could imagine.
During a phone call with Modi on June 17, Trump told the Indian Prime Minister that he was proud of ending the conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad. He also mentioned that Pakistan planned to nominate him for the Nobel Prize, an award Trump reportedly wants to receive by any means.
Trump then hinted to Modi that he expected similar action from India. Sources say this is what provoked the Indian Prime Minister. Modi responded bluntly that US intervention had nothing to do with the conflict ending. India and Pakistan had come to the negotiating table on their own.
At the time, Trump largely dismissed Modi's remarks, but he remembered the conversation. The exchange is seen as a turning point in the deterioration of relations between the two leaders.
Modi later even stopped answering calls when Trump tried to contact him. Once close ties between the two leaders unraveled completely, tensions hardened further.
Conflict between India and Pakistan
The conflict between India and Pakistan began on April 22 with a terrorist attack near Pahalgam, India, where armed assailants opened fire on Indian tourists. In response, India launched Operation Sindur on May 7, targeting what it described as terrorist sites in Pakistan. That same night, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos against India.
After several days of air clashes, the two sides agreed to attempt negotiations. A few days later, President Trump claimed that India and Pakistan had reached a ceasefire through Washington's mediation.
India, however, stated that the ceasefire after the four-day conflict in May was the result of negotiations between the militaries of both countries, not US mediation.
On June 21, the Pakistani government officially nominated US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize "in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention" in the India-Pakistan conflict. India declined to do the same.
