"We settled seven wars; this is number eight": Trump after Gaza ceasefire deal

Washington [US], October 10 : US President Donald Trump held a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday morning, a day after announcing that the "first phase" of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas would begin soon.

At the meeting, he highlighted his administration's role in addressing global conflicts, claiming that seven wars had been ended during his tenure and referring to the signing of the first phase of Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas as "number eight."

"We settled seven wars, or major conflicts, but wars. And this is number eight. And the one that I thought would be maybe the quickest of all would be Russia-Ukraine. I think that's going to happen, too. But in the meantime, they're losing about 7,000 people a week, and that seems pretty bad...That war should never have happened. It would have never happened if I were President," he said.

His remarks echoed those he made earlier on September 23 at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he claimed that within seven months of his presidency, he had achieved what many thought impossible.

Trump stated that he had ended seven "unendable" wars and reiterated his claim of having helped broker a truce between India and Pakistan earlier this year.

"In just seven months, I have ended seven unendable wars," Trump told world leaders. "They said they were unendable, some were going for 31 years, one was 36 years. I ended seven wars, and in all cases they were raging with countless thousands of people being killed."

The US President listed the conflicts he said were brought to a close under his watch, citing Cambodia and Thailand, Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Trump has repeatedly linked his claims at the UNGA with remarks he made earlier this week in Washington. On September 21, while speaking at the American Cornerstone Institute Founder's Dinner, he again asserted that he played a role in "stopping wars," including between India and Pakistan, and even suggested he should be honoured with the Nobel Prize for "ending seven wars."

"We are forging peace agreements, and we are stopping wars. So we stopped wars between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia," Trump said at the event.

Expanding on his claim, he added, "Think of India and Pakistan. Think of that. And you know how I stopped that with trade. They want to trade. And I have great respect for both leaders. But when you take a look at all of these wars that we've stopped."

At the same event, Trump listed conflicts he said were halted under his leadership, including "Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Congo."

"Just look at that. India, Pakistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Congo. We stopped all of them. And 60 per cent of them were stopped because of trade," he stated.

He further claimed that his pressure had been decisive. "Like with India, I said, 'Look, we're not going to do any trade if you're going to fight and they have nuclear weapons. They stopped.'"

Turning to the war in Ukraine, Trump linked the conflict to his broader claim of being a peacemaker. "I said, 'Well, what about the seven others? I should get a Nobel Prize for each one'. So they said, 'but if you stop Russia and Ukraine, sir, you should be able to get the Nobel'. I said I stopped seven wars. That's one war, and that's a big one," he told the gathering.

Trump said he initially believed the conflict would be easier to resolve because of his ties with Moscow. "Because I have a good relationship with President Putin, disappointed in him, but I do. I thought that would be the easiest one, but we'll get it done one way or the other," he said.

He suggested energy prices were directly linked to ending the war. "... That (oil drilling) will automatically stop the war with Russia and Ukraine; you get the prices down a little bit more, that's got to stop it. I am very disappointed in President Putin. Anywhere between 5000-7000 people are dying every week..."

Reiterating his criticism of Moscow, Trump said the Russian president had failed to meet expectations. "He has let me down. I mean, he's killing many people and he's losing more people than he's, you know, than he's killing. I mean, frankly, Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers," Trump said at a press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The President acknowledged the limits of his influence, admitting, "Even though I thought that the Russia-Ukraine war would be the 'easiest' one to solve, it was not the case."

He insisted, however, that the war would not have begun had he been in office. "This was a thing that would have never happened had I been president. If I were president, it would have never happened. And it didn't happen for four years. Most people agree it didn't happen, nor was it close to happening," he stated.

Trump also recalled his past diplomatic outreach, referring to his summit with Putin in Alaska, where he urged the Russian leader to engage directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said, despite those efforts, "a peace deal did not materialise," and the conflict, which began with Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, escalated further.

The war has since continued, with Russia launching a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, aiming to "demilitarise and denazify" the country, according to President Vladimir Putin. Fighting has persisted through 2024 and 2025, with Ukrainian counteroffensives alongside Russian gains in Donetsk and Luhansk. In August 2024, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, capturing territory and prisoners.

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