WASHINGTON: To deal with the growing challenge posed by China, it is important not to let Russia fall into Beijing’s lap, Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said on Thursday, saying that if elected he would achieve that goal by offering a “deal” with Moscow.
Ramaswamy told a news channel that as US president he would offer to freeze the current lines of control between Ukraine and Russia, make a tough commitment that NATO would not admit Ukraine and lift sanctions. In return, Russia would have to withdraw from its military alliance with China.
“A very clear vision. I would make a deal that (Vladimir) Putin would say yes to, but that actually advances American interests, so the United States wins. Here’s what I would do,” Ramaswamy stated in reply to query how he would stop the war in Ukraine.
“I would freeze the current lines of management. Furthermore, I would make a firm commitment that NATO will not accept Ukraine into NATO. That’s enough for Putin to seal the deal. But in return I will demand something even greater,” said the 38-year-old biotech multimillionaire.
US pushes Rusia further into the hands of China
“Russia must abandon its military alliances with China. Right now we are pushing Russia further into the hands of China. The Russian-Chinese military alliance is the single greatest threat facing the United States today. And so just like Nixon did in 1972, I’m going to do it in reverse,” he added.
“In fact, Russia has sent weapons to both India and Vietnam, both of which are neighbors of China. They are sending a signal that China wants to build a railway in the northeast of China to reach the ocean. Russia won’t let them. So there are cracks in that armor now,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, another Republican presidential candidate from India and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley criticized Ramaswamy for his remarks that he opposed the use of US military force against Iran.
“We are not preventing Israel from defending itself to the full extent.” And we continue to support Israel because it is our friend,” Ramaswamy told Israel Hayom.
“I think it’s really important that the U.S. doesn’t put our own men and women in a war with Iran, even though there’s really no reason for us to be in that kind of war right now, and I don’t think that’s good for the United States, and I don’t think , that it is good for Israel. But what we have to do is make sure that Israel is strong so that Iran is not encouraged,” Ramaswamy told an Israeli newspaper.
“It must have escaped Vivek that the fanatical terrorist regime in Iran regularly calls for ‘Death to America,'” Haley said in a statement.
“If they don’t see a nuclear Iran as a threat to American security, then they should take their place next to the AOC and the Squad and get nowhere near the White House,” she said, referring to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the group of eight Democratic members of the US House of Representatives known as the Squad.
“Detach Russia from China, and by the way, get Russia to remove its military presence in the Western Hemisphere as well. Get out of the Western Hemisphere. Re-open economic relations with Russia, that’s what we’re doing,” he added.
The Indian-American presidential candidate said that the reason why China is more valuable today is because the US has wrongfully cut off Russia from the West by bombing the Nord Stream one and two pipelines as well as sanctions against Russia.
“So if we can reopen Western economic relations with Russia, Russia will have less reason to be in partnership with China. If you look closely, there are also cracks in the armor of this relationship,” he said.
