CAATSA sanctions on India would be extraordinarily foolhardy, says US Senator
(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
India is a critical ally of the United States and it would be
“extraordinarily foolhardy” to impose any sanctions on New Delhi
under the punitive CAATSA law for its purchase of the S-400 missile
defence system from Russia, a top Republican Senator has told the
Biden administration.
The US administration is required under domestic law, Countering
America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to impose
sanctions on any country that has significant transactions with
Iran, North Korea or Russia. CAATSA is a tough US law that
authorises the administration to impose sanctions on countries that
purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to Russia's
annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged meddling in the 2016
US presidential elections.“There are reports that the Biden
administration is contemplating imposing CAATSA sanctions against
India, the largest democracy on Earth, a decision that I think
would be extraordinarily foolhardy,” Senator Ted Cruz said during a
hearing on pending nominations by the powerful Senate Foreign
Relations Committee.
Cruz, who represents the State of Texas in the United States
Senate, said that over the last one week, the bilateral
relationship between India and the United States had deteriorated
under the Biden administration.“India is a critical ally across a
number of areas, and the US-India alliance has broadened and
deepened in recent years. But under the Biden administration, it's
gone backwards,” Cruz said.“India is not the only country to have
voted against us, and against condemning Russia,” he said, in
reference to India's abstention in the UN General Assembly votes
condemning Russia's aggression in Ukraine.
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