WASHINGTON, 16 November 2021, (TON): State Department said “the US has not made any decision yet on a potential waiver for India after it began receiving deliveries of an advanced surface-to-air missile system from Russia.”

The deliveries risk sanctions under the 2017 Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which authorises economic penalties on entities that purchase arms from Russia's defence industry.

A State Department spokesperson said on condition of anonymity that the Biden administration has not yet made a determination "on a potential waiver with respect to Indian arms transactions with Russia," further maintaining that CAATSA "does not have a blanket or country-specific waiver provision."

The spokesperson said "we urge all of our allies and partners to forgo transactions with Russia that risk triggering sanctions under the" act.”

The spokesperson added "the U.S.-India defence partnership has expanded significantly in recent years, commensurate with India’s status as a Major Defence Partner. We expect this strong momentum in our defence partnership to continue. We value our strategic partnership with India.”

A Russian official confirmed on Sunday that Moscow has started supplying the S-400 air defence system to India.