S-400 missile deal with Russia 'almost' ready despite US sanctions
New Delhi, July 13 : Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that India would go head with the proposed purchase of five Russian-made S-400 Triumf advanced air defense systems despite US sanctions against Moscow red-flagging the deal for which an agreement is almost ready.
She didn't give a specific time for concluding the $5.5 billion military deal for the Triumf interceptor-based missile system -- billed as a game-changer for India's ability to counter ballistic missiles and stealth aircraft like those China is developing.
"It is almost at the conclusive stage. It will happen soon. But when it is going to be finalised, I can't say," Sitharaman told reporters about the much-awaited procurement of the long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.
Asked if the US sanctions targeting Russia for its purported interference in the 2016 presidential election process would impact India's military purchases, the Defence Minister said Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) was an American and not a UN law.
"Of course, it does not (apply to India)," she said, replying to a question. "It is not either or for India between the US and Russia."
"Our defence relation with Russia has endured several decades and we have conveyed about it to a US Congressional delegation which visited India recently."
She said India had made its clear to the US that defence cooperation with Russia was a time-tested relationship.
The US has openly expressed concern regarding the S-400 missile system being acquired by any of American partners, including India.
US Congressmen, Republican Mac Thornberry, Chairman of the House Armed Services, who was in India in May, said if New Delhi went ahead with the purchase, it would complicate "our ability to work out inter-operability" at a time when the US had issued sanctions against Russian oligarchs and companies. These include Rosoboronexport, the state-owned Russian weapons trading company.
India's deep military and strategic ties with Russia date back to the beginning of the Cold War even as New Delhi led a movement of "non-aligned" countries that declared their tilt with neither Washington nor Moscow. However, India always leaned toward the then USSR.
India still buys over 60 per cent of its defence equipment from Russia. At present, the Indian armed forces are 70 per cent equipped with Soviet or Russian weapons.
India and Russia signed an agreement for the purchase of the missile system in 2016 .
About the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) programme deal between India and Russia, Sitharaman said India had decided to withdraw from the programme after its preliminary stage was over.
But the door has been kept open so that India can return to the collaborative programme in which India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was the lead developmental agency along with Russia's Sukhoi Design Bureau.
The two countries had discussed the FGFA since 2007 to develop and manufacture the fighter under an estimated $8.63-billion deal.
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CPI(M) rebel Kunhikrishnan hopes for 5,000-vote win in Payyanur
Kannur (Kerala) (PTI): CPI(M) rebel candidate V Kunhikrishnan, who contested as a UDF-backed Independent from Payyanur here, on Saturday said he was hoping to win the Assembly election by a margin of 5,000 votes.
Kunhikrishnan was expelled from the CPI(M) earlier this year after raising allegations of corruption in the party’s martyrs’ fund against sitting MLA T I Madhusoodanan.
Speaking to a TV channel, Kunhikrishnan said he had announced his candidature as a mark of protest and not with expectations of victory.
However, he said the situation had changed drastically, with a strong undercurrent within CPI(M) votes favouring him.
"The undercurrent in CPI(M) votes cannot be measured. Now people are giving a response indicating victory with a margin of at least 5,000 votes," he said.
Payyanur is considered a CPI(M) stronghold, and a defeat for Madhusoodanan there would be a major setback for the party.
On political violence in Payyanur, Kunhikrishnan said he had been facing it since filing his nomination.
"The people leading this violence should think about how long they can continue it. It is the police which has to take the initiative to stop this violence as part of maintaining law and order. But the police are not intervening at the required level," he said.
Regarding his political future, Kunhikrishnan said efforts were underway to strengthen Left groups, and discussions were being held across Kerala in that regard.
"After discussing with others, a decision will be taken," he said.
Kunhikrishnan is among six former CPI(M) leaders who either exited the party or were suspended before contesting for the UDF in the April 9 Assembly elections.
Elections to the 140-seat Kerala Assembly were held on April 9, and the counting of votes will be held on May 4.
