With the possibility of sanctions hanging over India’s $5.4-billion deal with Russia for the S-400 air defence systems, outgoing US envoy Kenneth Juster said on Tuesday that New Delhi may need to make hard decisions regarding the acquisition of military hardware.
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The US recently imposed secondary sanctions on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for a $2.5-billion deal with Russia for S-400 systems, and experts have warned that India could face similar strictures.
Participating in a question and answer session after delivering a farewell address at an event organised by the Observer Research Foundation, Juster said sanctions under CAATSA weren’t aimed against friends of the US. However, he cautioned that India might soon need to make choices between “trade-offs” and acquiring hi-tech US military hardware.
“The CAATSA sanctions were never designed to harm friends and allies. They were aimed at a particular country. And there are many variables involved in it and I think…I would put that issue to the side because I see other issues that potentially affect the future of the defence relationship,” he said.
