US not to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey for buying Russian S-400

Donald Trump, President of United States of America has announced that US would not sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, a major NATO ally after Ankara purchased S-400 missile defence system from sanctions-hit Russia.

Key Highlights

Turkey, a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is denied purchase of F-35 fighter jets after it received the 1st batch of Russian missile defence system despite repeated warnings from US against the purchase.

CAATSA: Under current US laws, any country purchasing major defence equipment from Russia (against whom US has put sanctions) could be subjected to American sanctions. US has imposed a series of sanctions on Russian individuals/companies/government agencies over Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine.

Although US Congress has made amendments in Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for a Presidential waiver and many in India believe that this Presidential waiver was for India but US officials had clarified that there was no blanket sanction waiver for any country.

F-35 Fighter Jet: It is a stealth, 5th-generation, multirole combat aircraft, designed for ground-attack and air-superiority missions.

What it means for India?

On October 2018 India inked an agreement with Russia in to procure a batch of S-400 missile systems at a cost of Rs.40,000 crore. Later in June 2019, S Jaishankar Union Minister of External Affairs conveyed his US counterpart Mike Pompeo that India will go by its national interest on S-400 missile defence deal with sanctions-hit Russia.

This decision by Trump Administration against Turkey could be an indication for India as New Delhi has also signed up with Russia to buy S-400 missile defence system against the advice of US.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2019