The freshly concluded 2+2 dialogue between India and US is significant for it happened against the backdrop of the threat of sanctions against governments working with countries, entities and individuals that the US government considers inimical to its interests.

US government issued sanctions on Chinese entities for buying Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 from Russia. &nbsp;

The US issued these sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which is designed to cripple US’s adversaries. &nbsp;

Under the CAATSA, the US has also imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia. While the sanctions on Iran will indirectly hamper the fuel price situation in India, the US has also indicated that India could also attract direct sanctions.

The threat of sanctions looms on India because of its all-weather relationship with Russia, specifically because of the recent decision by the government to purchase the highly sophisticated S-400 Triumf air defence system from Russia. &nbsp;

India, as is well known, has had a history of non-alignment in the post-WW II cold war era. Still, a very young nation, India, under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru articulated and held steadfast to its promise of staying equidistant from both the erstwhile USSR and the US-led western block of countries. India did so as an assertion of its free and sovereign status and with an interest to keep its own priorities ahead of strategic geopolitical goals of the two world powers. &nbsp;

After the collapse of the USSR in the 1980s the world saw at least two decades of a unipolar world in which the USA dominated developments from the south-China sea to West Asia and beyond. &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
However, since the emergence of China and more recently the re-emergence of Russia as a major influencer of global geopolitics, the world is back to being a multipolar chessboard. This has also seen US’s status as a global economic and military powerhouse diminished because of the rise of communist China and its seemingly inexhaustible ability to out-price rivals. &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Trump presidency, thus, feels increasingly insecure. It’s inability to achieve a decisive and favourable end to the Syrian war has also made it wary of Russian resurgence. &nbsp;

US’s fear should not be allowed to affect India-Russia ties or for that matter India’s ties with any country. India-Russia partnership has been the bedrock of our foreign policy over the last fifty years if not more. The upcoming visit of President Vladimir Putin on October 5 for the 19th India-Russian Summit in October too needs to be treated with as much respect and fanfare as the Head of State of a friendly nation like Russia deserves. &nbsp;

Any attempt to curtail it or diminish its importance will only be a portent of future troubles for India as it will send out a message of succumbing to threats of US sanctions. The government should go ahead and sign the S-400 Triumf deal with Russia when Putin is here.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

The freshly concluded 2+2 dialogue between India and US is significant for it happened against the backdrop of the threat of sanctions against governments working with countries, entities and individuals that the US government considers inimical to its interests.

The freshly concluded 2+2 dialogue between India and US is significant for it happened against the backdrop of the threat of sanctions against governments working with countries, entities and individuals that the US government considers inimical to its interests. US government issued sanctions on Chinese entities for buying Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 from Russia. The US issued these sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which is designed to cripple US’s adversaries. Under the CAATSA, the US has also imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia. While the sanctions on Iran will indirectly hamper the fuel price situation in India, the US has also indicated that India could also attract direct sanctions. The threat of sanctions looms on India because of its all-weather relationship with Russia, specifically because of the recent decision by the government to purchase the highly sophisticated S-400 Triumf air defence system from Russia. India, as is well known, has had a history of non-alignment in the post-WW II cold war era. Still, a very young nation, India, under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru articulated and held steadfast to its promise of staying equidistant from both the erstwhile USSR and the US-led western block of countries. India did so as an assertion of its free and sovereign status and with an interest to keep its own priorities ahead of strategic geopolitical goals of the two world powers. After the collapse of the USSR in the 1980s the world saw at least two decades of a unipolar world in which the USA dominated developments from the south-China sea to West Asia and beyond. However, since the emergence of China and more recently the re-emergence of Russia as a major influencer of global geopolitics, the world is back to being a multipolar chessboard. This has also seen US’s status as a global economic and military powerhouse diminished because of the rise of communist China and its seemingly inexhaustible ability to out-price rivals. Trump presidency, thus, feels increasingly insecure. It’s inability to achieve a decisive and favourable end to the Syrian war has also made it wary of Russian resurgence. US’s fear should not be allowed to affect India-Russia ties or for that matter India’s ties with any country. India-Russia partnership has been the bedrock of our foreign policy over the last fifty years if not more. The upcoming visit of President Vladimir Putin on October 5 for the 19th India-Russian Summit in October too needs to be treated with as much respect and fanfare as the Head of State of a friendly nation like Russia deserves. Any attempt to curtail it or diminish its importance will only be a portent of future troubles for India as it will send out a message of succumbing to threats of US sanctions. The government should go ahead and sign the S-400 Triumf deal with Russia when Putin is here. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

India must sign S-400 deal with Russia 

India will not abandon the purchase of the S-400 air defence missile systems from Russia despite US pressure as New Delhi is committed to all its military-technical cooperation with Moscow, India's Ambassador Pankaj Saran said on Friday.

India has concluded price negotiations with Russia for a nearly Rs 40,000 crore deal to procure S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems for the Indian Air Force, officials in New Delhi said last month.

In an interview with the state-run TASS news agency, India's Ambassador to Russia Saran, who has recently been appointed the Deputy National Security Advisor, said that India will not back out of buying S-400s.

Military-Technical cooperation between India and Russia was discussed during the informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi last month, he said.

It was the first informal Summit in the history of India-Russia relations.

The envoy said the date for the annual bilateral summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin has not been announced but he expects it to take place sometime in October in New Delhi.

"We are committed to all our agreements in this sphere, including purchase of S-400. India has a long history of military-technical cooperation with Russia based on trust and mutual benefit. There is no change in the approach of India to our partnership in this field," Saran said.

Asked if Russia could expect signing of an agreement on supply of S-400 by the end of this year, the Indian envoy said he would not like to fix any time-frame.

"I can only say that we have achieved significant progress in the negotiations," Saran said.

Officials in New Delhi have said that India and Russia are now trying to find a way out to evade the provisions of a US law that seeks to punish countries and entities engaged in transactions with the defence or intelligence establishment of Russia.

Both sides are now looking at ways to insulate the deal from the sanctions announced by the US against Russia under its Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

The US had announced sanctions against Russia under the stringent law for its alleged meddling in the American presidential election in 2016.

CAATSA, which came into effect in January, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence establishment of Russia.

Asked about the reason for organising the informal summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin, Saran said that the summit was characterised by a special personal chemistry between the two leaders.

"The reason for this unscheduled meeting was that both sides wanted to exchange opinions on key global and regional issues including development of situation in Afghanistan, Syria and Iran as well as to discuss matters of bilateral interest.

"Today relations between India and Russia are important not only for our two countries but also for the region and the whole world. And we would like to build a multi-polar world where India and Russia will contribute to global stability," the ambassador added.&nbsp

Military-Technical cooperation between India and Russia was discussed during the informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi last month, India's Ambassador Pankaj Saran said.

India will not abandon the purchase of the S-400 air defence missile systems from Russia despite US pressure as New Delhi is committed to all its military-technical cooperation with Moscow, India's Ambassador Pankaj Saran said on Friday. India has concluded price negotiations with Russia for a nearly Rs 40,000 crore deal to procure S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems for the Indian Air Force, officials in New Delhi said last month. In an interview with the state-run TASS news agency, India's Ambassador to Russia Saran, who has recently been appointed the Deputy National Security Advisor, said that India will not back out of buying S-400s. Military-Technical cooperation between India and Russia was discussed during the informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi last month, he said. It was the first informal Summit in the history of India-Russia relations. The envoy said the date for the annual bilateral summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin has not been announced but he expects it to take place sometime in October in New Delhi. "We are committed to all our agreements in this sphere, including purchase of S-400. India has a long history of military-technical cooperation with Russia based on trust and mutual benefit. There is no change in the approach of India to our partnership in this field," Saran said. Asked if Russia could expect signing of an agreement on supply of S-400 by the end of this year, the Indian envoy said he would not like to fix any time-frame. "I can only say that we have achieved significant progress in the negotiations," Saran said. Officials in New Delhi have said that India and Russia are now trying to find a way out to evade the provisions of a US law that seeks to punish countries and entities engaged in transactions with the defence or intelligence establishment of Russia. Both sides are now looking at ways to insulate the deal from the sanctions announced by the US against Russia under its Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The US had announced sanctions against Russia under the stringent law for its alleged meddling in the American presidential election in 2016. CAATSA, which came into effect in January, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence establishment of Russia. Asked about the reason for organising the informal summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin, Saran said that the summit was characterised by a special personal chemistry between the two leaders. "The reason for this unscheduled meeting was that both sides wanted to exchange opinions on key global and regional issues including development of situation in Afghanistan, Syria and Iran as well as to discuss matters of bilateral interest. "Today relations between India and Russia are important not only for our two countries but also for the region and the whole world. And we would like to build a multi-polar world where India and Russia will contribute to global stability," the ambassador added.

India won't back out of buying S-400s from Russia despite US pressure: India's envoy

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India must sign S-400 deal with Russia

India won't back out of buying S-400s from Russia despite US pressure: India's envoy