India will soon find out: Trump on US sanctions for S-400 deal with Russia

US president Donald Trump has said India will soon “find out” if the CAATSA sanctions apply to it over its $5 billion deal with Russia.

The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA is a US federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia and last week India signed a deal with Russia to purchase the S-400 Triumf air defense system.

The deal was sealed in New Delhi during Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit.

On Wednesday (10), Trump was asked about the agreement between India and Russia during an interaction with reporters in the Oval Office, and he replied, “India is going to find out.”.

Asked when, he said, “You will see. Sooner than you think.”

Last week, the White House had said the US presidential waiver on weapons deal with Russia was intended to “wean” countries like India off the Russian equipment.

“The (CAATSA presidential) waiver was narrow, intended to wean countries off Russian equipment and allow for things such as spare parts for previously purchased equipment,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson had said after the conclusion of the S-400 contract.

The US embassy spokesperson in New Delhi had said that the CAATSA was aimed at Russia and not intended to damage the military capabilities of its “allies and partners.”