Washington, DC [US], October 11 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) reacted to not winning the Nobel Peace Prize this year, claiming that he had extended assistance to the awardee, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, on multiple occasions.

He said the Venezuelan opposition leader called him and accepted the prize 'in honour' of him.

'The person who got the Nobel Prize called me today and said, 'I am accepting this in honour of you because you really deserved it'... I didn't say, 'Give it to me', though. I think she might have... I've been helping her along the way. They needed a lot of help in Venezuela during the disaster. I am happy because I saved millions of lives...' Trump said while speaking to reporters at the White House.

Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Trump, who had expected to receive the prize for his efforts to 'end seven wars,' also linked the conflict in Ukraine to his broader peacemaking claims.

'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, listing conflicts he said were halted under his leadership, including 'Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Congo.'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday also said that Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. In a post on X, he wrote, 'Give @realDonaldTrump the Nobel Peace Prize - he deserves it!'

The Norwegian Nobel Committee described Maria Corina Machado as a 'brave and committed champion of peace' and stated that the Prize has been awarded to a 'woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.'

'Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence. Machado has spent years working for the freedom of the Venezuelan people,' the Committee said.

'The Venezuelan regime's rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation. In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair,' the Nobel Committee said.

'Peace laureate Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard,' it said.

Machado meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel's will for the selection of a Peace Prize laureate, the selection committee said. (ANI)