US Says In Talks With Delhi To Help It Avoid ‘Sanctionable Activity’ With Russia

The American state department and the Pentagon appeared to take differing stands on Saturday on the Donald Trump administration’s controversial Caatsa legislation, or the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which aims to target countries entering into significant defence and intelligence tie-ups with Russia.

A day after defence secretary Jim Mattis sought a waiver from sanctions under the law for countries making a transition from their military dependence on Russia, the state department said on Saturday that it is working with partner countries, including India, to help them identify and “avoid engaging in potentially sanctionable activity” under the Act.

Mattis had demanded that secretary of state Mike Pompeo be empowered with the authority of issuing waiver to certain countries when it came to US sanctions on Russia. Providing the secretary of state with a Caatsa waiver authority, Mattis said, would allow nations to build a closer security ties with the US as they continue to transition from their reliance on Russian military equipment. “The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is do we wish to strengthen our partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn to Russia, thereby undermining a once in a generation opportunity to more closely align nations with the US vision for global security and stability,” Mattis had said.

But on Saturday, the state department asserted that it was fully committed to implementing Caatsa under which sanctions kick in against countries that purchase significant military equipment from Russia. “We have discussed Caatsa with the government of India, and the US is working with our partners including India to help them identify and avoid engaging in potentially sanctionable activity,” a state department spokesperson said when asked about the statement by Mattis.

However, the state department spokesperson said: “This administration is fully committed to implementing Caatsa, including Section 231, which provides for sanctions on any person determined to knowingly engage in a significant transaction with a person that is a part of, or operates for or on behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation. I am not going to speculate on future sanctions actions or go into details of the agenda for the 2+2 (dialogue) other than to say that we will discuss the full range of issues central to strategic, security, and defence cooperation.”

Though the act targets Russia, it is having unintended consequences on India which is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf air defence systems for Rs 39,000 crore from Russia in what US says could be a “significant” purchase. AGENCIES

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Courtesy: Times Group:  Jul 22, 2018