Washington: Eric Michael Garcetti, nominated by President Joe Biden as the next ambassador to India, assured lawmakers that he “fully supports the law of the land” to implement CAATSA. He said this while underlining the provision of concession as part of the strict law.
Garcetti, 50, also said during the hearing on the confirmation of his name as the US Ambassador to India that the growing defense trade between India and the US is one of the great success stories of the bilateral relationship.’Countering America’s Adversaries The Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, is a strict US law that aims to reduce Russia’s influence. Following Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine in 2014 and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, the law primarily deals with sanctions on Russian interests.
Garcetti was responding to a question on the imposition of sanctions under CAATSA on India as India has now started receiving consignments of S-400 missile systems from Russia. He said that he fully supports the implementation of CAATSA, the law of the land.
“I don’t want to prejudice the minister’s decision about sanctions or exemptions,” said Garcetti, a confidant of President Biden and currently serving as the mayor of Los Angeles. I would like to inform the Chairman, Ranking Member and all (of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) that I fully support the law of the land, hereby applying CAATSA as a law and a part of it exempted. ”
In October 2018, India signed a five-billion dollar deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defense missile system, following warnings from the US administration that the contract should be retained by the US. You may face sanctions.
Alexander Mikheev, head of Russian state-run military firm Rosoboronexport, said last month that Moscow has started supplying components of the S-400 air defense missile system to India. Garcetti said that if his name is confirmed, he would advocate for continued diversification of India’s weapons systems threatening America’s own weapons systems.
“If this diversification doesn’t happen then we have to protect our data and our systems,” he said. He said he would work towards enhancing the India-US key defense partnership. Amid the growing threat of US sanctions on India over the purchase of S-400 missile systems from Russia, India has said that it takes sovereign decisions based on threat perception and the armed forces have to deal with the entire spectrum of security challenges. Keeps it in ready condition.
Minister of State for Defense Ajay Bhatt, while answering a question in the Lok Sabha on December 3, said that the government is aware of all developments that may affect the purchase of defense equipment. Bhatt said the S-400 missile is a powerful system and India’s air defense capability will be significantly enhanced once it is inducted. During the hearing to confirm his new appointment, Garcetti also lauded the growing defense trade between India and the US.
“I think this is one of the great success stories in the last few decades in the areas of zero to $20 billion procurement, intelligence sharing, interoperability, exercises, maritime operations,” Garcetti said. India is the only designated ‘Major Defense Partner’ (MDP) of the US. The US and India have made significant progress after completing four major defense enabling agreements since 2016. Major defense partners India and the US look forward to further enhance cooperation in information sharing, bilateral and multilateral exercises, maritime security cooperation, exchange of liaison officers and logistics.
Responding to questions related to human rights in India, Garcetti assured the lawmakers that he would personally speak to various stakeholders in India on the issue. “There is no doubt that the US-India relationship should be based on our shared commitment to democracy, human rights and civil society… If my name is confirmed, I will actively raise these issues,” he said. I will pick them up humbly.”
“There are organizations that are actively fighting for the human rights of people on the ground in India that will connect directly with me,” Garcetti said. We know that democracies are complex and we can see it in our country and India, but it is also the cornerstone of our shared values.