India, June 18 -- Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told US President Donald Trump that last month's cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was finalised without any mediation by the US, the American leader repeated his claim that he "stopped a war" between the two South Asian nuclear-armed countries.

During a phone call initiated at Trump's request, Modi pushed back against the US leader's repeated claims that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan by saying that New Delhi "has never accepted mediation, does not and will never do so". Modi also made it clear to Trump that during the four days of clashes between the two countries, issues such as the "India-US trade deal or mediation by the US" were not dis...