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Washington: The Biden administration said on Tuesday that the United States is yet to firm up any possible waiver of the Anti-America Opponents of America Act (CAATSA) through sanctions to India in relation to the purchase of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia. Not resolved.
The State Department’s remarks come a week after India began supplying S-400 missile defense systems to Russia and calls by top Republican and Democratic lawmakers not to impose CAATSA sanctions on India.
Stating that it values its strategic partnership with India, a State Department official kept the Biden administration’s secret on the issue by telling reporters that CAATSA does not have a blanket or country-specific exemption provision. .
We need to refer you to the Government of India for any comments on possible delivery of the S-400 system. But when it comes to the system, not only in the Indian context, but more broadly, we have become clear that we have urged all our allies, all our partners, to relinquish transactions with Russia under sanctions. There may be a risk of triggering – CAATSA, The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that we have not made any decision on possible exemptions in relation to Indian arms transactions with Russia.
However, CAATSA does not provide for any blanket or country-specific exemptions. We also know that our defense ties with India have expanded and deepened in recent years. He said this is in line with our broad and deepening relationship with India and its status as a major defense partner.
We expect this strong momentum to continue in our defense relationship. We certainly value our strategic partnership with India. As you know, long back we had the opportunity to visit India. I believe we have met External Affairs Minister Jaishankar several times in August. Price said in response to a question that we have discussed this concern directly, including at the highest levels of the Indian government.
He said several members of the US Congress have shown keen interest in the issue.
It is not for us to talk to any system which may or may not be available to the Government of India. It is up to us to talk about those laws and the requirements under those laws. Obviously, members of Congress are also keenly interested in this. So, that’s a conversation that’s going on with our Indian partners, Price said.
This is a conversation that takes place in the context of a defense relationship that is meaningful to us, that is important to both the United States and India, including in the context of a free and open Indo-Pacific. And so, I doubt those talks will continue, he said.
Price said that the 2+2 talks will soon take place in Washington DC.
We are again committed to 2+2, as we have important relations with India, including its status as a major defense partner. But I can assure you that there will be a 2+2 opportunity long ago, he said.
Last month, US senators and India Caucus co-chairs Mark Warner and John Cornyn sent a letter to President Joe Biden encouraging him to waive CAATSA sanctions against India for buying military weapons from Russia.
While India has taken significant steps to reduce purchases of Russian military equipment, it has a long history of buying arms from the Soviet Union and later Russia. In 2018, India formally agreed to buy the Russian S-400 Triumph air-defense system after signing a preliminary agreement with Russia two years ago, he said.
We are concerned that the upcoming transfer of these systems will trigger sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was created to hold Russia accountable for its malicious behavior, they wrote.
Therefore, we strongly encourage you to provide CAATSA exemption to India for the planned purchase of S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system. In cases where granting exemptions would promote America’s national security interests, this exemption authority, as written into law by Congress, allows the president additional discretion in enforcing sanctions, both senators wrote.
Read also: Russia’s S-400 air defense system begins arriving in India, US threatens CAATSA sanctions
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