India To Go Ahead With S-400 Inspite Of CAATSA; Likely To Convey Its Decision To US In 'One Plus Two' Dialogue
India is expected to convey to the United States (US) during the upcoming 'two-plus-two' dialogue that it will be going ahead with S-400 deal with Russia. India is in the final stages to conclude Rs 4,000 crore deal
New Delhi, September 3: India is expected to convey to the United States (US) during the upcoming 'two-plus-two' dialogue that it will be going ahead with S-400 deal with Russia. India is in the final stages to conclude Rs 4,000 crore deal to procure S-400 Triumf advance air defence system inspite of the US sanctions on military transactions with Moscow.
India is likely to seek a waiver from the Trump administration for the mega-deal. In July, The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation which would allow the United States president to waive penalties against certain countries that purchase weapons from sanctioned Russian defence companies. U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis sought the waiver especially for countries like India and Vietnam.
On the contrary, chairman of the powerful US House Armed Services Committee Mac Thornberry had even said that India’s move would hamper the military ties between the two countries. Earlier, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had taken a dig at the Combating America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). She said that it was it is an American law and not a UN law. The CAATSA was enacted by the US to punish Russia for meddling in 2016 presidential elections. The law also threatens sanctions against third countries for having any security and intelligence relations with Russia.
The first edition of the much-awaited 2+2 dialogue on strategic affairs between the US and India will take place on September 6 during which a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interests will be discussed. Under the new framework finalised last year, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold talks with the secretary of state Mike R Pompeo and secretary of defence James Mattis from the US.
India wants to procure the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly along the nearly 4,000-km-long Sino-India border. China is the first country to purchase these missiles from Russia in 2014. Russia. S-400 is an upgraded version of S-300 and can destroy incoming enemy fighter jets, missiles and even drones up to the range of 400 km. The missile system is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and is serving Russian Military since 2007.
(With inputs from PTI)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2018 12:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).