Defence Secretary Jim Mattis today appealed to the Congress to urgently provide India national security waiver, saying imposing sanctions on it under a newly-enacted law for buying the S-400 air defence missile system from Russia would only hit the US.
During a Congressional hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis told American lawmakers that the national security waiver should be urgently provided to India and other countries which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons to avoid sanctions under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
CAATSA, which was signed into law in August 2017 and went into effect in January this year, mandates the Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence sectors of Russia.
India is currently in an advance stage of negotiations with Russia for five S-400 system worth an estimate USD 4.5 billion.
The S-400 Triumf long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. The S-400 missile system can fire three types of missiles and simultaneously engage 36 targets, thereby creating a layered defence.
Unlike other legislations, there is no national security interest waiver under CAATSA. And imposing sanctions on countries like India would only hit the United States, Mattis said.
"There is no national security waiver to what is referred to as the CAATSA Act, the specific act that says that, if another nation buys military equipment from Russia, then we will not sell them ours," Mattis told lawmakers
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