Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna introduces legislation in U.S. House on CAATSA sanctions waiver to India
The HinduIndian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has introduced a legislative amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives seeking a waiver to India against the punitive CAATSA sanctions for its purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, underlining that this will strengthen US-India defence ties and deter "aggressors." In October 2018, India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the then-Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite U.S. sanctions. “While India faces immediate needs to maintain its heavily Russian-built weapons systems, a waiver to sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act during this transition period is in the best interest of the US and the US-India defence partnership to deter aggressors in light of Russia and China’s close partnership,” says the legislative amendment moved by Mr. Khanna, the Democratic lawmaker from California. The U.S. has already imposed sanctions on Turkey under the CAATSA for the purchase of a batch of S-400 missile defence systems from Russia.