The US has warned India against buying Russian S-400 systems, proposing the Asian nation to consider another armament of that type, a senior US Department of State official said during a conference call on Friday.
"With respect to the S-400, we're urging all of our allies and partners, India included, to forgo transactions with Russia that risk triggering the CAATSA [Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act] sanctions... This is a time we will be encouraging India to look at alternatives," the official said ahead of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s upcoming visit to India.
Pompeo's visit to India will focus on finding ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and continue high-level talks on regional and global issues.
Earlier in the month, the US State Department gave India an indirect warning that its purchase of Russian-made air defence systems could compromise further arms deals between New Delhi and Washington.
The warning was made after the Indian Foreign Ministry indicated that New Delhi had no plans to scrap its S-400 deal with Moscow despite the threat of US sanctions.
The sanctions legislation, known as the 'Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act', was signed into law in 2017, and gives Washington the right to impose sanctions on any country that buys Russian-made defence hardware. The US used the legislation last September, imposing sanctions against China's defence ministry over its purchase of Russian aircraft and S-400 systems.
