US will understand our rationale to buy S-400
Says EAM Jaishankar
WASHINGTON: India needs the S-400 ‘Triumf’ missile defence system and has apprised the Trump administration of its decision to acquire them from Russia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, exuding confidence that the US would appreciate its rational.
India announced its intention to acquire Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile systems in 2015. The delivery contract worth USD 5.43 billion was signed during the visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to India last year.
Senior Trump administration officials have cautioned India that the S-400 deal could attract sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) law that restricts defence purchases from Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Responding to a question on the S-400 missile system purchase, Jaishankar, who is here on an official visit, said, “India has made a decision on the S-400, and we have discussed that with the US government.
“I am reasonably convinced of the powers of my persuasion,” Jaishankar said, responding to a question from a Russian journalist on the possibility of US sanctions on India under CAATSA if New Delhi goes ahead with its decision to purchase the S-400 missile defence system from Russia.
WASHINGTON: India and the US have experienced dramatic changes in their relationship in the last two decades, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, exuding confidence that the two countries will find a way to "fix" their bilateral trade disputes.
Jaishankar said the world was increasingly becoming multipolar and is unlikely to return to bipolarity, predicting that a strategic appreciation of the emerging global landscape would bring India and the US closer.
"I can't believe that people today are less ingenious than we were in our time. So I'm reasonably confident that we will find a fix," said the top Indian diplomat who is currently on a three-day official trip to Washington DC. One of the challenges is really how do one define the issue for which they are trying to find a fix, he said.
"My understanding of the conversations is that he (Piyush Goyal) has had with his counterpart and (that) his officials, have had team to team that there's been a very intense engagement. I am hopeful that something would come out of it," Jaishankar said at an event here on Tuesday.
The External Affairs Minister said that ahead of the New York meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, there were multiple rounds of very positive conversations on the trade issue.
"I think they needed more
time. Many of their issues were more complex," he said, adding that he has been telling the Indian press that trade deals are much more complicated than they think. "It isn't simple arithmetic. A lot of variables are out there. So we will have to work our way through that," he said.
Trade officials from the two countries would naturally want progress on what are considered to be the outstanding issues, Jaishankar said.
"But I think there's also some desire to look beyond. So when people speak about what's gonna be the a trade deal, we'll have to see about that goes," he said.
"So it's going to be sort of you trade the size of it and the complexity of it for the time and the energy for it. I think that part of it is still a little open, but again, my understanding is that they would be talking with each other continually over the coming days," Jaishankar said.
Referring to the historic "Howdy, Modi" event in Houston last month, Jaishankar said "we couldn't have conceived" of such an event 10 years ago.
The "Howdy, Modi" event in a sense reflects a phenomenon which is going to be the future of the world, which is a flow of talent from one geography to the other, he said.
"You've really seen in the last 20 years a dramatic change in this relationship. And dramatic change between big countries is not that common," he said.