Will India face sanctions for S-400? | Worldview with Suhasini Haidar

Russian President Putin will be in India in early December and so will the Russian S-400 Triumf long range air defense systems — and the question is, will the US government place sanctions on India, or will President Biden use his powers for sanctions waiver. Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act is a 2018 American law, pushed by the Democrats during US President Trump’s tenure that mandates the US government to put financial sanctions, travel bans on any country or its officials who are part of transacting any significant defence or intelligence deal with Russia, Iran or North Korea. - Theoretically, India doesn’t accept or honour unilateral sanctions imposed by any country, and only follows the UN and international law - However, the Modi government made an exception to this precept when it decided to cancel its oil supplies from Iran and Venezuela under the threat of US sanctions in 2019. In 2018, one year after the CAATSA law was passed, and after it became clear that S-400 could trigger US sanctions, India went ahead with the deal, made advance payments through a rupee-rouble mechanism, and has now begun to receive initial parts shipments of the first of five S-400 systems it has bought for $5.43 billion dollars - When asked, the MEA said the possible sanctions were being “discussed” with the US government, acknowledging that India is not ignoring these US sanctions, but Indian diplomats have also said the S-400 is about India’s national security interests and cannot be cancelled - India has also made the point that Russia is a traditional or legacy defence partner, making up about 70% of its current arsenal. Book recommendations: - Economic Sanctions and American Diplomacy by Richard Haass in 1998 - Containing Russia: How to Respond to Moscow's Intervention in U.S. Democracy and Growing Geopolitical Challenge by Robert Blackwill and Phillip Gordon - American Dove: US Foreign Policy and the Failure of Force by Zachary Shirkey - The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East by Jay Solomon - A New Era: India-Russia ties in 21st century by Nandan Unnikrishnan and others - Iran´s Relations with Russia and India: Under the American Sanctions, by 3 authors, independently published