‘US won’t let India become next China’: Russian envoy claims ‘Freudian slip’ revealed Washington’s concerns
New Delhi: Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov on Sunday claimed that a senior American official had let slip Washington’s real thinking about India’s rise. Speaking at the NDTV Defence Summit, he pointed to remarks made earlier this year at the Raisina Dialogue and called them a “Freudian slip.”
“I think this year at the Raisina Dialogue, one of the top US officials revealed and spoke publicly that the ‘US will never allow India to become the next China’ as a competitor. It was like a Freudian slip,” Alipov said. “So as India becomes stronger and stronger, and eventually a superpower — which is inevitable — the US would be doing everything possible to contain India.”
The official he appeared to be referring to is US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. In March, Landau told the Raisina audience that America would not repeat the mistakes it made with China twenty years ago. Washington, he said, would not simply open its markets and watch another Asian power grow into a commercial rival that starts beating the United States in key sectors. The US wanted to work with India and unlock its potential, but not at the cost of American workers and interests.
Alipov linked those comments to current American pressure on India over Russian oil. He singled out the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, signed by President Donald Trump. The law allows the United States to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries that continue buying Russian oil and gas. Alipov argued the measure is aimed as much at limiting India’s rise as it is at hurting Russia.
“India is buying Russian oil not for the sake of Russia. India is buying Russian oil for the sake of its own economy and its own people. Because it is there at a competitive offer,” he told NDTV. He praised New Delhi’s stance as a show of strategic autonomy. “In response to this, I think India has shown strategic autonomy and strength. The US has articulated to pressure Russia with this act. It is by itself absurd. And the US, I would repeat that, very well knows that. And I think as India rises, this kind of pressure tactics will continue and will aggravate, will increase.”
The ambassador also used the occasion to underline the depth of India-Russia ties. Diplomatic relations began in 1947 with the Soviet Union and continued after 1991. Next year marks 80 years. Alipov described the partnership as one built on trust and consistency rather than short-term convenience. “Trust and respect are the very qualities that characterise our relationship. You don’t do business with untrustworthy partners,” he said. “Throughout all these decades, we have been friends who have been reliable partners to each other — not only Russia to India, but both ways. We have never conditioned our relations on any immediate global disposition, so we have never regarded our relationship as a zero-sum game.”
He pointed to the recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 11 as proof that the relationship still has a full agenda. Alipov also presented BRICS as part of a wider effort by countries like India and Russia to secure a bigger voice in global decision-making.
The remarks come at a time when India-US relations have grown more complicated. Tariffs, secondary sanctions linked to Russian energy, and a sharper transactional approach under the Trump administration have replaced the warmer strategic partnership of earlier years. American officials still speak of India as an important partner in the Indo-Pacific and a potential counterweight to China. Yet comments like Landau’s and laws like the Graham Act have fed a different reading in some capitals: that Washington is comfortable with India’s rise only up to a point.
India, for its part, has continued to buy discounted Russian crude because it makes economic sense for a country that imports most of its energy. Officials in New Delhi have repeatedly said these purchases are driven by national interest, not geopolitical alignment. Strategic autonomy remains the core principle — engaging multiple partners without becoming dependent on any single one.
Alipov’s intervention will not rewrite policy overnight. But it sharpens an uncomfortable question that has been circulating for months. Does the United States genuinely want India to become a major power, or does it prefer a version of India that remains useful without becoming fully competitive? The Russian ambassador clearly believes the answer slipped out in March, and he is not shy about saying so.
Whether one accepts his reading or sees it as classic great-power messaging, the tension is real. India is growing, its economy is expanding, and its global weight is increasing. How Washington chooses to handle that reality — genuine partnership, managed competition, or something in between — will shape the relationship for years ahead. For now, the Russian envoy has made sure the conversation stays public and pointed.
Sources:
– NDTV report on Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov’s remarks at the NDTV Defence Summit, September 27, 2026
– South China Morning Post and Bloomberg coverage of US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau’s comments at the Raisina Dialogue, March 2026
– Reporting on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026
‘US won’t let India become next China’: Russian envoy claims ‘Freudian slip’ revealed Washington’s concerns
New Delhi: Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov on Sunday claimed that a senior American official had let slip Washington’s real thinking about India’s rise. Speaking at the NDTV Defence Summit, he pointed to remarks made earlier this year at the Raisina Dialogue and called them a “Freudian slip.”
“I think this year at the Raisina Dialogue, one of the top US officials revealed and spoke publicly that the ‘US will never allow India to become the next China’ as a competitor. It was like a Freudian slip,” Alipov said. “So as India becomes stronger and stronger, and eventually a superpower — which is inevitable — the US would be doing everything possible to contain India.”
The official he appeared to be referring to is US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. In March, Landau told the Raisina audience that America would not repeat the mistakes it made with China twenty years ago. Washington, he said, would not simply open its markets and watch another Asian power grow into a commercial rival that starts beating the United States in key sectors. The US wanted to work with India and unlock its potential, but not at the cost of American workers and interests.
Alipov linked those comments to current American pressure on India over Russian oil. He singled out the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, signed by President Donald Trump. The law allows the United States to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries that continue buying Russian oil and gas. Alipov argued the measure is aimed as much at limiting India’s rise as it is at hurting Russia.
“India is buying Russian oil not for the sake of Russia. India is buying Russian oil for the sake of its own economy and its own people. Because it is there at a competitive offer,” he told NDTV. He praised New Delhi’s stance as a show of strategic autonomy. “In response to this, I think India has shown strategic autonomy and strength. The US has articulated to pressure Russia with this act. It is by itself absurd. And the US, I would repeat that, very well knows that. And I think as India rises, this kind of pressure tactics will continue and will aggravate, will increase.”
The ambassador also used the occasion to underline the depth of India-Russia ties. Diplomatic relations began in 1947 with the Soviet Union and continued after 1991. Next year marks 80 years. Alipov described the partnership as one built on trust and consistency rather than short-term convenience. “Trust and respect are the very qualities that characterise our relationship. You don’t do business with untrustworthy partners,” he said. “Throughout all these decades, we have been friends who have been reliable partners to each other — not only Russia to India, but both ways. We have never conditioned our relations on any immediate global disposition, so we have never regarded our relationship as a zero-sum game.”
He pointed to the recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 11 as proof that the relationship still has a full agenda. Alipov also presented BRICS as part of a wider effort by countries like India and Russia to secure a bigger voice in global decision-making.
The remarks come at a time when India-US relations have grown more complicated. Tariffs, secondary sanctions linked to Russian energy, and a sharper transactional approach under the Trump administration have replaced the warmer strategic partnership of earlier years. American officials still speak of India as an important partner in the Indo-Pacific and a potential counterweight to China. Yet comments like Landau’s and laws like the Graham Act have fed a different reading in some capitals: that Washington is comfortable with India’s rise only up to a point.
India, for its part, has continued to buy discounted Russian crude because it makes economic sense for a country that imports most of its energy. Officials in New Delhi have repeatedly said these purchases are driven by national interest, not geopolitical alignment. Strategic autonomy remains the core principle — engaging multiple partners without becoming dependent on any single one.
Alipov’s intervention will not rewrite policy overnight. But it sharpens an uncomfortable question that has been circulating for months. Does the United States genuinely want India to become a major power, or does it prefer a version of India that remains useful without becoming fully competitive? The Russian ambassador clearly believes the answer slipped out in March, and he is not shy about saying so.
Whether one accepts his reading or sees it as classic great-power messaging, the tension is real. India is growing, its economy is expanding, and its global weight is increasing. How Washington chooses to handle that reality — genuine partnership, managed competition, or something in between — will shape the relationship for years ahead. For now, the Russian envoy has made sure the conversation stays public and pointed.
Sources:
– NDTV report on Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov’s remarks at the NDTV Defence Summit, September 27, 2026
– South China Morning Post and Bloomberg coverage of US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau’s comments at the Raisina Dialogue, March 2026
– Reporting on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026
@Rohit Manral
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