New Delhi: The Trump administration had been warning India to drop the 5.5 billion deal for five missile systems saying that this will create a diplomatic crisis as New Delhi did not have a wide waiver from a 2017 US law aimed at deterring countries from buying Russian military hardware. People who are aware of the matter said that the United States has mentioned that this new waiver to acquire the Russian S-400 defence system will increase the risk of India getting the similar sanctions imposed on Turkey for buying that equipment.
The US are aware of India’s plan to purchase the air missiles and a spokesperson from the US embassy in Delhi said that they note that there have been no deliveries yet and there have been no wavering determinants concerning Indian transaction with Russia. “We urge all of our allies and partners to forgo transactions with Russia that risk triggering sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). CAATSA does not have any blanket or country-specific waiver provision,” the spokesperson said Reuters.
New Delhi has commented that they have the right to choose their weapons which may lead to an initial difference in interest with the new US administration. India argues that they need the long-range surface-to-air missiles to counter the threat from china on the wake of the dispute regarding the Himalayan Border since April. India Today reports that the Foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said, “India and the US have a comprehensive global strategic partnership. India has a special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia.”
Even though Russia has always been India’s go-to country to acquire weapons, in recent years our government has shifted to the United States and Israel for air defence systems. People who are aware of the discussion mentioned to Reuters that the US told New Delhi that the acquisition of the S-400 will threaten the future of many high-end transfers of drones and fighter planes from the US military. They also mentioned that the corrective measures by the US will only be taken if the deal is “consummated” and believes that New Delhi still has time to reconsider.
