Can’t prejudge sanctions: US after India-russia missile deal

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

“Waivers of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) section 231 will be considered on a transaction-by-transaction basis. We cannot prejudge any sanctions decision,” a US embassy spokesperson said, adding that there are strict criteria for considering waivers.

CAATSA is meant to punish Russia for its activities in Ukraine, and the US last month imposed sanctions against China for acquiring Russian military hardware, including S-400 systems, under the provision.

“The intent of our implementation of CAATSA is to impose costs on Russia for its malign behaviour, including by stopping the flow of money to Russia’s defence sector. CAATSA is not intended to impose damage to the military capabilities of our allies or partners,” the spokesperson said.

Peter Layton, from Australia’s Griffith Asia Institute, told CNN that the problem for the US is that if it allows India to acquire the S-400, there is no reason why it shouldn’t allow other countries, such as Turkey, to do so.

“The CAATSA will appear a rather subjective sanction programme if it only applies to some nations and not all,” he said.

US President Donald Trump has the power to grant a waiver of the CAATSA sanctions, and top officials in his administration have pushed India’s case.

“There have been enough signals that India’s case will be considered sympathetically. Of course, we don’t really know given the Trump administration and Mr Trump being Mr Trump,” Harsh V Pant, a professor in international relations at King’s College London, told CNN.

Unlike China, India is seen as an important US ally and any move by the Trump administration to punish the country would have far-reaching implications. NEW DELHI: The S-400 Triumf air defence system, a deal for which was inked by India and Russia on Friday, can engage up to 36 targets at a time and launch 72 missiles simultaneously.

The long- and medium-range air defence missile system is designed to destroy air attacks, including stealth aircraft and any other aerial targets.

“The sides welcomed the conclusion of the contract for the supply of the S-400 Long Range Surface to Air Missile System to India,” said a joint statement released after the delegationlevel talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladmir Putin.

The delivery of the missile systems, tipped to be over $5 billion, will start 24 months from the signing of the contract. Acquiring the missile system will help repulse air attacks. The deal assumes significance as China, too, has signed a deal with Russia to procure the same system.

“This is the most lethal weapons system in the world and it provides four different types of layered air defence,” Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Manmohan Bahadur told PTI.

The S-400 system can also additionally include an all-altitude radar (detector) and movable towers for an antenna post, they said. The target detection range of the system is up to 600 kilometres and its tactical ballistic missile destruction range varies from five to 60 kilometres.