Facing US Sanctions: Is India Being Pressured into Buying American Weapons?
A senior defense source told The Hindu that if the US sought to unsettle India-Russia ties, it would not mean the US will gain out of it through arms deals. "Today we have multiple options, from France to Israel. It would be better for the US not to try and scuttle our military ties"
Ami Rojkes Dombe
| 23/04/2018
http://www.almaz-antey.ru/en/osnovnaya-produktsiya-voennogo-naznacheniya/zrs-s-300vm-antey-2500/
A report by The Hindu raises a question whether the United States is using the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, as a commercial tool to prevent countries from buying Russian defense products.
On January 29, the US began imposing sanctions on foreign companies under Section 231 of CAATSA for transactions made with Russian defense and intelligence sector.
The Hindu has learned that since February, at least two senior US defense officials have conveyed to India in no uncertain terms that India would not be immune to the proposed sanctions under CAATSA. The Indian Defense Ministry declined to comment on what India’s response to the warnings was. However, it is understood that Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Defense Secretary Sanjay Mitra have both raised serious objections to the US proposal in their bilateral meetings. The Indian Embassy in Washington DC remains engaged on the issue, military sources said.
"The US can’t offer anything that can compare to the S-400 [air-defense missile system] for India. Add to that, its processes are much more complicated. While the Russian government’s nod allows the contract to proceed, in the US, the private companies have hesitations, the US Congress, the DoD, State Department, White House, etc., can object and scuttle any deal," said P.S. Raghavan, Convenor of India's National Security Advisory Board.
A senior defense source told The Hindu that if the US sought to unsettle India-Russia ties, it would not mean the US will gain out of it through arms deals. "Today we have multiple options, from France to Israel. It would be better for the US not to try and scuttle our military ties," he said.
The list of Russian entities which fall under the scope of Section 231 of CAATSA is published on the official website of the US State Department. Among those entities is Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defense Corporation, the developer and manufacturer of the S-400 air defense missile system.
A senior defense source told The Hindu that if the US sought to unsettle India-Russia ties, it would not mean the US will gain out of it through arms deals. "Today we have multiple options, from France to Israel. It would be better for the US not to try and scuttle our military ties"
http://www.almaz-antey.ru/en/osnovnaya-produktsiya-voennogo-naznacheniya/zrs-s-300vm-antey-2500/
A report by The Hindu raises a question whether the United States is using the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, as a commercial tool to prevent countries from buying Russian defense products.
On January 29, the US began imposing sanctions on foreign companies under Section 231 of CAATSA for transactions made with Russian defense and intelligence sector.
The Hindu has learned that since February, at least two senior US defense officials have conveyed to India in no uncertain terms that India would not be immune to the proposed sanctions under CAATSA. The Indian Defense Ministry declined to comment on what India’s response to the warnings was. However, it is understood that Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Defense Secretary Sanjay Mitra have both raised serious objections to the US proposal in their bilateral meetings. The Indian Embassy in Washington DC remains engaged on the issue, military sources said.
"The US can’t offer anything that can compare to the S-400 [air-defense missile system] for India. Add to that, its processes are much more complicated. While the Russian government’s nod allows the contract to proceed, in the US, the private companies have hesitations, the US Congress, the DoD, State Department, White House, etc., can object and scuttle any deal," said P.S. Raghavan, Convenor of India's National Security Advisory Board.
A senior defense source told The Hindu that if the US sought to unsettle India-Russia ties, it would not mean the US will gain out of it through arms deals. "Today we have multiple options, from France to Israel. It would be better for the US not to try and scuttle our military ties," he said.
The list of Russian entities which fall under the scope of Section 231 of CAATSA is published on the official website of the US State Department. Among those entities is Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defense Corporation, the developer and manufacturer of the S-400 air defense missile system.
