Moscow to Deliver the S-400 Triumf Missiles on Schedule - Russian Diplomat

New Delhi (Sputnik): India has contracted five S-400 Triumf surface to air missile systems from Russia that will serve as the backbone of the air defence system of the Indian Air Force. India signed the $5.4 billion deal in 2018 for the acquisition of the S-400 systems.

Roman Babushkin, deputy chief of mission, Embassy of Russia in New Delhi, while briefing the media on Wednesday, said that Moscow would adhere to the delivery schedule from 2023. He said, the mode of payment would be found to overcome the US trade sanctions against Russia under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) law.

Babushkin said that global trade is increasingly being done in national currencies of the trading partners to overcome the US sanctions. “[The] US dollar is increasingly getting distorted worldwide,” he added.

“The world no longer will be the same again. We are forced to find ways to eliminate trade in US dollar", Babushkin added.

The deal for the S-400 missile system was signed ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi in October 2018. A joint statement issued during the visit said that “The sides welcomed the conclusion of the contract for the supply of the S-400 Long Range Surface to Surface Air Missile System to India”.