NEW DELHI: As the Russia-backed Syrian government took back Aleppo after four years, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said the US, for whom this is a setback, now needs India in its corner.
Swamy’s position is at odds with that of his party’s colleagues in government, but that dichotomy is nothing new for the BJP Rajya Sabha Parliamentarian.
The BJP-led government backs the Bashar Al-Assad regime in the war-torn nation. So Swamy’s comment could also be seen as a change in the Centre’s thinking about the conflict, even as Russia and Pakistan seem to be getting closer. Russia and Iran back the Syrian government, while the rebels are backed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and some Western states.
Like in the past, Swamy reiterated that India, the US and Israel – with their “comparative advantages” – must join hands to fight “Islamic terror” going forward. He’s said before that India’s manpower strength will complement the US’s military strength and Israel’s top-notch intelligence inputs.
After the terror attack in Brussels in March – which was claimed by ISIS – Swamy said India should join other countries to fight terror, especially the Islamic State.
“We should retaliate and must be ready to join other countries to fight ISIS…The ISIS is not like any other terrorist organisation. It controls a territory and no other terrorist organisation has such a large territory as ISIS,” Swamy told ANI at the time. He added then that the Indian Army has the best manpower and is better than the American Army.
Bureau Report
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