S-400 delivery won’t be hit by US sanctions: Russia minister

NEWDELHI: The US threat of sanctions will not delay Russia’s delivery of S-400 air defence systems to India and the two nations have worked out alternative arrangements for payments, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

Russia believes India’s role in the development of Afghanistan is “indispensible”, Ryabkov told a small group of Indian journalists, days after US President Donald Trump mocked India’s development aid for the war-torn country. Moscow has said it won’t be pressured by US sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) while finalising defence deals with New Delhi. Russian officials have said the first delivery under the $5.4-billion deal for the S-400 systems will be made in 2020.

“You may rest assured our commitments and obligations under the contract will be fully honoured and India will receive this system as agreed upon in due time and without any delay,” Ryabkov said, without setting a timeframe for deliveries.

Indian and Russian experts dealing with military deals have

“almost all necessary tools”, including alternative ways of payments, he said, adding it will be counterproductive to publicly discuss schedules for payments.

“The political message is important though – we want to be immune to the arbitrary and unilateral measures that are taken by some countries against very legitimate forms of international cooperation,” he said.

Russia, he said, understands India’s “essential role in Afghanistan” and welcomes the country’s

participation in all efforts aimed at reconciliation and peaceful resolution of the situation. “We are very much in sync with India on this very important issue,” he said. Development and sustainability of institutions is key in countries affected by war and the “Indian effort in material support to Afghanistan is an indispensible one and of utmost importance”, he added. He also said it is necessary to have a dialogue with the Taliban “to understand better where they are”.