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05 October 2018
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| India Russia (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions) |
India signed a $5 billion deal to buy five Russian S-400 air defense
systems on Friday despite a looming threat of U.S. sanctions on countries that
trade with Russia's defense and intelligence sectors.
The deal was signed in New Delhi during a visit by Russian President
Vladimir Putin, who met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss
nuclear energy, space exploration and trade.
India has requested that the U.S. grant it a waiver for the deal from
sanctions prescribed by the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions
Act, a U.S. law passed in August 2017 that is intended to punish Russia for its
annexation of Crimea and alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.
The U.S. did not spare China from sanctions last month for purchasing
its own Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems and fighter jets.
If the U.S. does impose sanctions on India, it is unclear how India
could pay Russia for the military equipment, since the law bars dollar-denominated
financial transactions.
Vladimir Sotnikov, a foreign affairs expert at an independent research
institute in Moscow, believes India could make the payment in a mixture of
rupees and dollars to try to circumvent the sanctions.
"I do not think that India would succumb to U.S. pressure over the
purchasing of the armaments from Russia," he said. "India has a very
sophisticated policy of separating the relationship between India and the U.S.
and India and the Russian Federation. And India is in a good negotiating
position right now."
The National Security Council at the White House said in a statement
that the Trump administration urges all "of our allies and partners to
forgo transactions with Russia that would trigger sanctions" under the
act, known as CAATSA.
"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. Our recent
action to sanction a Chinese government entity for an S-400 delivery
underscores the seriousness of our resolve on this issue."
Officials with India's external affairs and defense ministries confirmed
the deal was signed after Putin and Modi made no reference to it during a news
conference following their talks.
An 11-page joint statement made only passing mention, saying that
"the two sides welcomed the conclusion of the contract."
The deal will likely bolster the close relationship between India and
Russia that dates back to the Cold War, when the U.S. tilted toward Pakistan,
India's neighbor and archrival. But it is also likely to strain ties with
Washington.
India is the world's largest importer of military hardware, according to
Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House, and has depended on Russia for political
support as well as billions of dollars in military hardware. Nearly 70 percent
of India's present-day defense equipment was procured from Russia, according to
India's Defense Ministry.
India's acquisition of the S-400 long-range missile systems has been
considered critical to countering a perceived threat from China, which is
increasingly making economic inroads throughout South Asia, India's traditional
sphere of influence, according to military experts.
"It gives the capability to destroy targets inside another country.
It's a very important capability," said retired Indian air force Air
Marshal Nirdosh Tyagi.
India has also developed closer defense ties to the U.S. in recent years
with joint military drills and defense sales.
India has signed more than $15 billion in U.S. defense contracts since
2008, including for C-130J and C-17 transport aircraft, P-8I maritime patrol
aircraft, Harpoon missiles and Apache and Chinook helicopters.The Total Investment & Insurance
Solutions
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