‘India is a great power now, not what we visited 25 years ago’: American journalist Tucker Carlson admits the US can’t dictate terms to India on Russian oil purchase

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In an interview with India Today, American journalist Tucker Carlson discussed the dynamics of the India-US relationship, the recently announced trade deal, and how India is no longer the country it was two decades ago. In a conversation with India Today, journalists at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Tucker Carlson said on 3rd February, India is a great power now, and no other country can dictate terms to New Delhi anymore.

Carlson asserted that other countries don’t get to dictate terms to India anymore; they can only negotiate, suggesting that India is a powerful and sovereign nation that cannot be treated like a junior partner.

“India is now a great power. You don’t dictate terms to them anymore. This is not the India we visited 25 years ago. This is a completely different country. And this is not a country to which you can dictate terms. You negotiate terms,” Carlson said.

Criticising the Trump administration’s attempt at influencing India’s foreign policy, particularly about New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases, Tucker Carlson said, “Of course, the United States can’t dictate to India what oil it should buy. Unfortunately, people adjust to reality slowly. Emerging powers aren’t emerging anymore. They’ve arrived.”

Carlson opined that America’s arm-twisting and pressure tactics are outdated in a world where India, China, and Russia operate as poles of power and not junior partners.

The former Fox News anchor also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among the world leaders about whom books will be written. “We’re living in a moment of historical leadership. Modi, Putin, Trump, Erdogan, MBS, MBZ. These are real people. Books will be written about them,” he said, adding that most Western political leadership is “forgettable”.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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