Supplies of Russian S-400 air defense missile systems to India begin.

The delivery of Russian-made S-400 Triumph (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) air defense missile systems to India has started and will continue to happen, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said at a briefing conference following the Russian-Indian summit in New Delhi: “As for the S-400s, the contract is in force. S-400 supplies have begun and will continue to happen,” Shringla said when asked about whether this topic had been discussed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting.
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S-400 Triumph air defense system (Picture source: Army Recognition)

As Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, the CAATSA issue did not come up at all. According to him, India “pursues an independent foreign policy and its relations with other countries should not be viewed in the light of cooperation with anyone.”

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the deal on the delivery of Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India was proceeding as planned despite the US attempts to disrupt Russia-India cooperation in this sphere. India announced its plans to purchase Russian-made S-400 systems in 2015. The relevant contract worth 5.43 billion dollars was signed during a visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India in October 2018.

As CEO of Russia’s Rosoboronexport state arms seller Alexander Mikheyev said in mid-November, the S-400 supplies to India started ahead of schedule. According to him, the first regiment set will be delivered to India before the end of the year.

The Russian-Indian S-400 deal has raised concerns of the United States that threatens to impose sanctions on states that acquire military hardware from Russia, referring to the CAATSA law adopted in 2017. India announces that it does not intend to withdraw from the contract. At the end of November, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the United States had not yet made a decision regarding the non-application of sanctions against India under CAATSA for the purchase of the S-400s from Moscow.

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