According to some experts, US sanctions have put a stop on the $6 billion deal with India concerning the Russian military exports and may derail the arms purchases of other US allies around Asia. In an official document that US President Donald Trump signed in August, any country trading with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors will be subjected to these sanctions.
American allies who are willing to buy weapons and equipment from Russia, the world’s second-largest arms exporter, are believed to suffer due to this law. One of the prime example being India who was planning to buy five S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems that the Indian military was really banking on in order to counter the ballistic missiles and stealth aircraft that China is developing and at the same time overwhelming the capabilities of India’s main antagonist, Pakistan.
Two officials in Delhi have stated that the deal, which Putin and PM Modi struck as part of an inter-government agreement in 2016, has run headlong into the US sanctions law.
The law has come into effect so as to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, involvement in the Syrian civil war and meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
