Waiver hint for S-400 deal with Russia

The United States on Thursday signalled that it might not impose sanctions on India for procuring S-400 Triumf missile defence system from Russia.

Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State, hinted that the Trump administration might grant India a waiver from the Section 231 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) if it struck the defence deal.

The US Congress in July 2017 passed the CAATSA to impose sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. Trump signed it into law in August 2017. The Section 231 of the CAATSA mandated secondary sanctions on any nation entering into high-value deals to procure military hardware from Russia.

New Delhi conveyed to Washington that given the long history of its defence cooperation with Moscow, it would not be possible for abrupt cuts. It was also underlined that India has been diversifying its military hardware procurement and the US has been a “net beneficiary”.