A debate is raging on in the United States over India's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system. The US had expressed its "concern" over the delivery of the surface-to-air missile systems from Russia to India, but it remains undecided on how to deal with the transaction. Though there is no official comment by the Indian Air Force on the deliveries, Russia's Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Dmitry Shugaev told Sputnik news agency last week that the deliveries of the missiles are going on as planned.
"We have been very clear with our Indian partners about our concern over this system," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said at a press briefing on Monday in reply to a question on to what extent the defence department is concerned about India receiving the first S-400s.
However, at the same time, India has supporters too. A top Republican Senator has supported growing calls for a presidential sanctions waiver to New Delhi on the purchase of S-400 missiles from Russia. Senator Tommy Tuberville said he favours granting India a sanctions waiver for its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile-defence system. "Our relationship with India is deepening. We met with Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and high-ranking officials to discuss Chinese aggressions toward India," Senator Tommy Tuberville said on Tuesday. The senator was part of a Congressional delegation to India and Southeast Asia to have a firsthand impression of the dangers being posed by China in the region. "We would have loved [for them] to have an Aegis system or a Patriot system. But they decided to go another direction. So we will see what Congress and President Biden say about this," he was quoted as saying.
