US warns India against buying Russian S-400
Trump said India would "soon know" how the US would react to the purchase of Russia's S-400, worth more than $5 billion.
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Russian S-400 air defense missile system. Photo:Sputnik. |
"India will soon find out. You will find out sooner than you think," US President Donald Trump said when asked by reporters about the US's reaction to India signing a contract to buy the S-400 air defense missile system from Russia.RTreport
India's $5.43 billion S-400 deal could lead to sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). India is currently exempt from CAATSA, but Trump's statement could refer to removing India from the exemption list.NDTVcomment.
India is the third country to buy the Russian S-400 system, after China and Türkiye. In September 2018, the US sanctioned a Chinese military unit and its head because China bought Su-35 fighters and the S-400 system from Russia. The US is freezing the delivery of F-35 stealth fighters to Türkiye for the same reason.
Earlier, the US State Department warned that it would remove India from the CAATSA sanctions exemption list if it pursued the S-400 purchase contract from Russia. "The exemption is a restriction for countries to abandon Russian equipment but accept spare parts for previously purchased equipment," a spokesman for the US National Security Council said.
Despite knowing that New Delhi could face sanctions from Washington, Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat said the country's army still wants to buy Kamov helicopters and many modern weapons and technologies from Russia to enhance its combat capabilities.
Economic TimesIt is believed that the deals with Russia could affect US defense technology transfer plans to India, negatively impacting US exports of drones and Patriot missiles abroad.
