India sees US as weak; played smart by staying close with Russia: Nikki Haley

Washington: Aspiring Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday said that India wants to be a partner with the US, but as of now they don't trust Americans to lead.

The Indian-American presidential aspirant also said that New Delhi has played smart in the current global situation and stayed close with Russia.

In an interview with Fox Business News, Haley, 51, said that as of now India sees the United States as weak.

"I have dealt with India too. I have got to say, I have dealt with India too. I have talked with Modi. India wants to be a partner with us. They don't want to be a partner with Russia," she said.

"The problem is, India doesn't trust us to win. They don't trust us to lead. They see right now that we're weak. India has always played it smart. They have played it smart, and they have stayed close with Russia, because that's where they get a lot of their military equipment," she said in response to a question.

"When we start to lead again, when we start to get the weakness out and stop putting our head in the sand, that's when our friends, India, Australia, New Zealand, all of them will -- and Israel, Japan, South Korea -- all of them want to do that. Japan gave themselves a billion-dollar stimulus to become less dependent on China,” Haley said.

"India gave themselves a billion-dollar stimulus to become less dependent on China," she told Fox Business News adding that the US needs to start building up its alliances.

Haley said China is not doing well economically and is preparing for a war with the US. "Financially, they're not doing well. You see their government has become more controlling. They have been preparing for war with us for years. That's their mistake,” she said.