Waiver to ‘wean’ India off Russia deal: US

The US presidential waiver on weapons deal with sanctions-hit Russia is intended to “wean” countries such as India off the Russian defence deal, the White House has said as New Delhi inked a $5-billion pact to purchase S-400 Triumf air defence system from Moscow. The mega deal was sealed in New Delhi on Friday during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a guarded reaction, the US said on Friday its intent to slap sanctions against Russia was not aimed at imposing damage to the military capabilities of its “allies or partners”, shortly after India concluded the deal for purchase of S-400 missile defence system from Russia.

The S-400 missile defence system would give India’s defence a cuttingedge security against any missile attack by its enemies. “The (CAATSA presidential) waiver is narrow, intended to wean countries off Russian equipment and allow for things such as spare parts for previously-purchased equipment,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said hours after the conclusion of the S-400 contract.

President of US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum Mukesh Aghi said: “India lives in a very turbulent and nuclear-powered region. S-400 provides that assurance and is compatible with its current platform. Friends understand that these discussions with Russia started several years ago hence I do not believe US will impose sanction on India.” But for the presidential waiver, Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA sanctions kicks in in the event of a major purchase like S-400 missile defence system. Ahead of the deal, the US had urged India not to purchase S-400. It reiterated Friday.

“The administration has indicated that a focus area for the implementation of CAATSA Section 231 is new or qualitative upgrades in capability - including the S-400 air and missile defense system,” the White House NSC spokesperson said.

Last month, the US had imposed sanctions on China for the purchase of S-400 from Russia. “Our recent action to sanction a Chinese government entity for an S400 delivery underscores the seriousness of our resolve on this issue. The waiver authority is not country-specific. There are strict criteria for considering a waiver,” said the spokesperson. The state department, which is tasked with reviewing the deal and initiated the process of sanctions or waiver under CAATSAA, and then recommend to the president, did not respond to the question on the time frame and the process.

However, an industry source said the law is ambiguous about “when a waiver is necessary so this can be avoided for years”.

The National Defense Authorization ACT (NDDA) 2019 gives president the power to waive of the CAATSA sanctions if it is national security interest. It lists out several other options for presidential waiver, prominent among which is the purchase country — India in this case — is taking or will take steps to reduce its inventory of major defense equipment and advanced conventional weapons produced by the defense sector of the Russian Federation as a share of its total inventory of major defense equipment and advanced conventional weapons over a specified period.

In a guarded reaction, the US said on Friday its intent to slap sanctions against Russia was not aimed at imposing damage to the military capabilities of its “allies or partners”