Biden to decide on sanctions against India for buying Russian arms

Washington: US President Joe Biden will take the call on whether to apply sanctions on India for its purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, a senior official has told lawmakers.

The US administration is required under a domestic law, Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to impose sanctions on any country that has significant transactions with Iran, North Korea or Russia. India – US strategic ally in south Asia – finds itself in this precarious position amid Russia’s escalating war on Ukraine.US hostility toward Russia had escalated in response to the eastern European nation’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections. Responding to a question on possible CAATSA sanctions on India, Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism on Wednesday said: “I can assure you that the administration will follow the CAATSA law and fully implement that law and will consult with Congress as we move forward with any of them. What unfortunately I am not able to say is to prejudge the decisions of the President or the (Secretary of State) on the waiver issue or on the sanctions issue, or whether Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will bear on that decision,” he said. “India is a really important security partner of our’s now. And that we value moving forward that partnership and I hope that part of what happens with the extreme criticism that Russia has faced is that India will find its now time to further distances,” Lu said.

He added that it is going to be hard for any country to buy major weapon systems from Russia because of the sweeping sanctions now placed on Russian banks. “What we’ve seen from India in just the last few weeks, is the cancellation of MIG 29 orders, Russian helicopter orders and anti-tank weapon orders,” he added. Lu’s remarks came as India faced flak from US lawmakers for choosing to abstain from a UN vote on Wednesday, opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. About 141 nations voted in favour of the move condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and five nations were against it, with 35 countries, including India, abstaining.

The United Nations General Assembly resolution was similar to the one circulated in the 15-nation Security Council last Friday, on which also India had abstained. The United Nations Security Council resolution, which received 11 votes in favour and three abstentions, was blocked after Russia exercised its veto.