As Russia Begins Delivery of S-400 to India, Here’s What US said on Sanctions Waiver to Missile Deal

As Russia starts the delivery of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India, the United States has said that it is yet to make a determination on a potential waiver of sanctions against India for its purchase of the missile defence system from Russia.

A US State Department spokesperson on Monday said that the Joe Biden administration wants “all of our allies, partners” to forgo transactions with Russia that risk triggering sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Also Read: Russia Begins Delivery of S-400 to India; All You Need to Know About the ‘Most Advanced’ Missile System

The spokesperson added that the CAATSA does not have a blanket or country-specific waiver provision.

CAATSA is a tough US law which authorises the administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections. Its provisions, include sanctions targeting Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors, serve as an important tool for the US government to discourage Russian arms purchases around the world.

Following US sanctions on Turkey over the procurement of S-400 missile systems, there have been apprehensions that Washington may impose similar punitive measures on India.

However, last month, two powerful US Senators have urged President Joe Biden not to impose provisions of the punitive Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) against India for buying the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia.

In a letter to Biden, Senators Mark Warner of the Democratic Party and John Cornyn of the Republican Party on Tuesday urged the president to grant a national interest waiver to India as provided under CAATSA as this is in America’s national security interest.

“We strongly encourage you to grant a CAATSA waiver to India for its planned purchase of the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system. In cases where granting a waiver would advance the national security interests of the US, this waiver authority, as written into the law by Congress, allows the President additional discretion in applying sanctions,” the two Senators wrote.

The S-400 is known as Russia’s most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. It is capable of simultaneously tracking numerous incoming objects including aircraft, missiles and UAVs in a radius of a few hundred kilometres and launch appropriate missiles to neutralise them.

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