India on Friday refused to comment on whether U.S. President Donald Trump must be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in recent international ceasefires and peace deals. The Ministry of External Affairs instead invited the White House to be asked directly.
"It would be preferable if you ask that question of the White House itself," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal replied to a journalist's question on the White House's support for Trump for the coveted award.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, claimed that President Trump is worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize for resolving a number of international conflicts, such as India-Pakistan hostilities, since his return to office in January.
The U.S. President, as Leavitt indicates, has led in settling several conflicts abroad. "Mr Trump has now ended conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia," she stated.
She went on to say that President Trump has brokered about one peace deal or ceasefire each month in his six months in office to date. "It's long overdue that President Trump receive the Nobel Peace Prize," Leavitt stated.
Trump has frequently taken credit for brokering a truce between India and Pakistan—a claim consistently rejected by India.
The tensions between the two South Asian neighbors intensified after a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22 killed 26 civilians. After the evidence of cross-border involvement emerged, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, hitting terror camps within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Pakistan responded by unleashing a massive missile and drone attack, which was neutralized successfully by the Indian armed forces. India hit back with attacks on Pakistani airbases. The war then cooled down after a ceasefire was agreed on May 10.
Requests that President Trump receive the Nobel Peace Prize have been picking up pace. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated Trump officially last month for the award, citing efforts made by Trump to broker peace between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Referring to Trump's "unwavering and remarkable commitment to advancing peace, security, and stability across the globe," Netanyahu wrote in his nomination letter to the Nobel Committee, a copy of which he posted publicly.
Islamabad also expressed its support in June, stating that it would nominate Trump for his purported efforts in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
The Nobel Peace Prize is given every year in October, with the nomination deadline closing every January. Donald Trump would be the fifth American president to receive the award, joining Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama, if chosen.
