"PM Modi could easily not embarrass Trump about India-Pak issue but decided to publicly say no": Eurasia Group Prez Bremmer

New Delhi [India], September 19 (ANI): Political scientist and Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for publicly rejecting US President Donald Trump's mediation claims on the India-Pakistan escalation in May following Operation Sindoor, describing it as a bold stance that contrasts with the silence of other global leaders.

In an exclusive interview with ANI on Friday, Bremmer highlighted Modi's decision to challenge Trump on the global stage, despite the power disparity, as a significant moment in personality-driven diplomacy.

"He [Trump] doesn't care. His view is, 'I'm powerful, I'm the president; you've got to listen to me...' But we've also seen that there are countries that can stand up to Trump and say, 'No.' The Chinese have stood up to Trump. And effectively the Russians have stood up to Trump... And I think Modi is in that space... Modi could have easily not embarrassed Trump about the India-Pakistan issue. And instead, Modi decided to publicly say, 'No, you had nothing to do with this,' and really did embarrass Trump on the global stage. And most other leaders in the world would have sucked it up and not said anything," Bremmer said.

He noted PM Modi's choice as a strategic move. He signalled that his move to publicly counter Trump helped him domestically and gave him a level of political independence rare among US allies.

Bremmer also drew a contrast with other global leaders, pointing to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as an example, who have adopted a more accommodating approach toward Trump, even if they disagreed with him behind the scenes.

"Modi decided personally that he was going to make this public and he was going to embarrass the US President, even though the US President is much more powerful than Modi is. And most other leaders in that position have chosen to remain silent. They've sucked it up. Some of them have even proactively talked about how amazing Trump is, how wonderful Trump is. Look at Keir Starmer, who certainly doesn't like what Trump stands for but loves the fact that he got a better deal from Trump than other countries have. He's in a very weak position... Modi is really on the opposite side of that. And that certainly has helped Modi in terms of domestic politics. We will see if there are broader consequences on the security and the economic relationship," the Eurasia Group President said.

When the conversation turned to the perceived warming of ties between the Trump administration and Pakistani military circles, Bremmer stated that the engagement was driven less by strategic considerations and more by economic and business motivations involving Trump's inner circle.

"This is mostly about business. Jake Sullivan recently wrote a lot about this... There is a kind of lack of ethics, a kleptocratic and oligarchic impulse with the family, and a constellation of people that are around the administration, trusted by light, who are conducting a lot of business with Pakistan. And that has brought them in. I don't think it's a particular strategic shift. I think it's opportunistic, and it's about some money. I wish that weren't the case. That's not the way the US is supposed to run. But anyone who's been watching the reporting around this can't ignore that reality," he added.

Addressing the recent Saudi-Pakistan mutual defence agreement, Bremmer suggested it was a hedge against regional insecurities.

He linked Saudi realignments to growing frustration over the US handling of Israel's military strikes, notably after Tel Aviv launched strikes on Qatar, which was hosting Hamas-led negotiations under Washington's guidance.

"It's clearly meant as a hedge to diversify Saudi Arabia's security commitments and support, including on the nuclear side... The Qataris were hosting Hamas with the full blessing of the United States to try to help get to a ceasefire. And Qatar hosts the largest US base on their territory, a military base in the region. And the Qataris only found out from the United States about these bombs as the missiles were striking. This completely unacceptable behaviour is on the part of a US ally. The United States did nothing to stop Israel from making those strikes, nor did it do anything to punish the Israelis for those strikes. And the Qataris lost a citizen who was killed in those strikes. So, the Saudis are very angry about this. And I think that the Pakistan agreement is a consequence of that," Bremmer said. (ANI)

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