In an interview with The Economist, Henry Kissinger said he had high regard for how Indians conduct their foreign policy now because it shows balance. The former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor (NSA) said in the eight-hour-long interview that there is a need for closer ties between India and the US.
At the end of April, we spoke to Henry Kissinger for more than eight hours about how to prevent the contest between China and America from descending into war. He believes the rapid progress of AI, in particular, leaves them only five-to-ten years: https://t.co/uFkI84tyhc pic.twitter.com/IdL4lP4Lfs
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) May 17, 2023
Enthusiastic About US-India Ties
Kissinger mentioned that India and US share common interests because both countries prefer democracy, and there is enough freedom of dialogue to express philosophical points between the two. He said that unlike earlier, when India was rigid in its approach to policy, the India of the present times gives scope for alignment.
“I agree with strengthening India militarily with respect to its conflict with China, because I think a military victory of China over India would then raise all kinds of problems of civil war in India,” the American political scientist and former diplomat remarked.
Kissinger further mentioned that he was enthusiastic about the close relations of Washington with New Delhi. He said, “You know, the practising political leader that is quite close to my views is the Indian Foreign Minister (Dr S. Jaishankar).”
Answering whether India will be playing a 19th-century balance of power role, he said that he agreed with the remarks of a former Indian Cabinet Secretary who said that the international system should be based on non-permanent alliances geared to the immediate necessities, instead of huge multilateral structures, which then tie you up.
Kissinger added that India does not need a NATO system for Asia to perform its role in maintaining balance.
Appreciating Indians for having remarkable social tenacity in having survived thousands of years under foreign rule, he said there is an excellent scope for India to understand the US, as that would put power and democracy into one unit.
“I think it’s possible that you can create a world order on the basis of rules that Europe, China and India could join,” he remarked.
"If I talked to #Putin, I would tell him that he, too, is safer with #Ukraine in #NATO."https://t.co/UUQvo3IQbt
— Mint (@livemint) May 18, 2023
On US-China, Ukraine
The former NSA said there is an urgent need for the US and China to repair their relations, and that any disturbance in the equilibrium between these countries could lead to catastrophic consequences.
In Kissinger’s view, the fate of humanity depends on whether America and China can get along.
He also expressed his view that Ukraine joining NATO would be in the interest of Russia and Europe. Additionally, he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an “extraordinary leader,” and lauded Zelensky’s decision to welcome Chinese diplomatic efforts in Ukraine.
Furthermore, the former American diplomat, political theorist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, notorious for his role in US foreign policy in Vietnam and Cambodia from 1969 to 1977, rebuked the American domestic polarisation, and said there is a lack of appeal in the country’s leadership.