NEW DELHI: Warning against purchase of crude from Russia, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said on Friday any attempt to underwrite the Vladimir Putin regime by any country will come back “and bite you”.
Pompeo also emphasised that the greatest security challenge to India and others will come from China, a country he said didn’t conform to international law, and that a stable Pakistan should be top priority for both India and the US.
“If you are underwriting the Putin regime and enriching it, he will have more resources to continue his onslaught,’’ said Pompeo, who served as secretary of state from 2018 to 2021 under the Trump administration.
Speaking about China, Pompeo said India should be proud of how it dealt with Chinese border aggression in 2020. He also said he, as then secretary of state, provided India whatever it needed strategically. “You folks did an amazing work. You should be proud of yourself. When you asked, we responded as quickly as we could,’’ he said.
“I think it’s important to create wealth and prosperity. You can’t have a secure nation without a prosperous economy. It’s important to create your own security systems and you are becoming a big exporter of systems to the world,’’ he added.
Pompeo also called the hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan a mistake. He said the US failure in Afghanistan probably gave Putin the idea that he could do what he’s doing in Ukraine.
Pompeo also emphasised that the greatest security challenge to India and others will come from China, a country he said didn’t conform to international law, and that a stable Pakistan should be top priority for both India and the US.
“If you are underwriting the Putin regime and enriching it, he will have more resources to continue his onslaught,’’ said Pompeo, who served as secretary of state from 2018 to 2021 under the Trump administration.
Speaking about China, Pompeo said India should be proud of how it dealt with Chinese border aggression in 2020. He also said he, as then secretary of state, provided India whatever it needed strategically. “You folks did an amazing work. You should be proud of yourself. When you asked, we responded as quickly as we could,’’ he said.
“I think it’s important to create wealth and prosperity. You can’t have a secure nation without a prosperous economy. It’s important to create your own security systems and you are becoming a big exporter of systems to the world,’’ he added.
Pompeo also called the hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan a mistake. He said the US failure in Afghanistan probably gave Putin the idea that he could do what he’s doing in Ukraine.