India may soon take delivery of the S-400 from Russia, potentially triggering US action
Prominent lawmakers have continued to voice their support for a sanctions waiver for India to purchase the S-400 missile defense system from Russia. India could start taking deliveries of the S-400 in November, potentially activating US sanctions under a 2017 law, the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Senate India Caucus co-chair John Cornyn and House Armed Services Committee member Mike Waltz and vice president of the Congressional India Caucus were among lawmakers who addressed the issue this week. His remarks were made on Wednesday evening at a virtually organized event organized by the US India Business Council and the US India Friendship Council.
Congressman Brad Sherman, a California Democrat and co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, also spoke of the strength of Indo-US ties.
purchase history
Mr Waltz said he acknowledged New Delhi’s history of procurement (from Russia) and India’s desire to diversify its weapon systems, noting that the situation is difficult.
He said the US Congress was working through “what are the next steps” – in terms of dealing with CAATSA in the Indian context and that he did not want a Turkish-like situation.
“So I don’t want to go beyond that. But I will tell you that the situation I want to avoid is where we are with Turkey right now,” he suggested, suggesting that India and the US keep talks open – either Congress level or at level 2+2. The next meeting between the foreign and defense ministers will be in Washington in early December).
NATO ally Turkey was expelled from the US F-400 program (a consortium to build aircraft) in 2019 after accepting an S-35 shipment. President Joe Biden said in July that Turkey would face further sanctions if it bought key equipment. from Moscow.
“I don’t think we are anywhere close to that yet. But I think we need to find some off-ramp and some way to move in a more positive direction,” Mr. Waltz said.
Congressman co-authored, with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, an op-ed in foreign policy Earlier this week, the US suggested a formal alliance with India. Ms Haley, an Indian American, is considered a potential 2024 GOP candidate for the White House.
A close eye on Afghanistan
The op-ed argued that India could help by “keeping a watchful eye on Afghanistan” and “keeping an eye on the southern part of China”. The authors also suggested that a formal alliance with India would enable the US to reach Afghanistan through India’s Farkhor Air Base in Tajikistan.
India has not publicly shown interest in a formal security alliance with the US or any other country.
Also on Wednesday, Texas Republican Mr Cornyn said the prospect of sanctions remains “one of the biggest threats” to bilateral relations. He said India has taken “significant steps” to reduce its reliance on Russian military equipment and has shown interest in buying more weapons from the US and “working more closely with us on the basis of shared values”, and therefore Must not be subject to CAATSA sanctions.
“So I think nothing will be gained by not waiving these sanctions, and probably has derailed the hard work we’ve done to strengthen our military cooperation,” Cornyn said.
The senator, along with his fellow caucus co-chair, Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia, wrote to President Biden on Tuesday, highlighting these points and asking him to grant the CAATSA exemption. The authority to issue waivers – when the conditions cited by Mr Cornyn are met – rests with the president, according to a law passed in 2018, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019.
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