The head of the Indo-Pacific Command of the United States, Philip Davidson, said that the Americans are not able to find mutual understanding with India on the supply of Russian C-400 air defense systems to this country. At a security conference organized by the Aspen Institute's research center, Davidson stressed that the Russian-Indian deal presents a certain “problem” for the United States.

“We continue to engage in dialogue (with the Indian side. - RT ), seeking to convey to her important tactical and technical considerations that such weapons must have compatibility, which cannot be (too much - RT ) a lot,” said Davidson.

At the same time, the admiral stated that in New Delhi they have not yet taken into account the arguments of the Americans and do not believe that American weapons are superior to Russian ones, and C-400 will not be able to organically integrate into the system of Indian armed forces.

“India is proud of the status of the country, the next course of non-alignment with anybody’s politics, and she views the discussion on the S-400 as a political issue, not a tactical one,” said Davidson.

According to the admiral's figurative expression, in order to find mutual understanding with India, the United States must "go through a journey of ten thousand steps."

"And now we are in the tenth - in the ninth step," admitted Davidson.

Recall that the contract for the supply to India of five Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 was concluded last October during a summit in New Delhi, which was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The contract amount was $ 5.43 billion.

The US has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction with the deal.

“As for the S-400, we called upon our allies and partners, including India, to abandon transactions with Russia, which could lead to the imposition of sanctions in accordance with CAATSA law,” the Department of State said in late June.

CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act - “On Countering America's Opponents through Sanctions”) is a law passed in the United States in 2017. It is directed primarily against Russia, the DPRK and Iran. However, it also provides for measures in relation to states cooperating with "opponents of America." In particular, a group of congressmen demanded that CAATSA be used against Turkey for buying S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia.

“There are no competitors for the S-400”

Experts believe that, as in the case of Turkey, US attempts to persuade India to abandon the deal on the supply of Russian air defense missiles will not bring results.

“70% of India’s military equipment is of Soviet or Russian origin, and an attempt to convince Indians that the S-400 will not fit somewhere will look quite comical,” Alexey Leonkov, an editor of the Arsenal of Fatherland magazine, told the RT .

  • Admiral Philip Davidson
  • © US Navy

He recalled that the Soviet and Russian equipment is more equipped with Indian air defense. In particular, the Asian state has the C-125 Neva and Osa complexes. In addition, the Akash air defense missile system of Indian production is in many ways reminiscent of the Russian Buk air defense system. Consequently, Delhi should not have any problems with the integration of the S-400, Leonkov believes.

“In the Indian market by the criterion of“ cost-effectiveness ”, the Russian ZRK has no competitors. Weapons comparable to C-400 were simply not offered to India, ”says military expert Vasily Kashin.

According to the expert, the United States, which wants to gain a foothold in the Indian arms market, squeezing out all competitors, contributed significantly to this. So, because of pressure from Washington several years ago, a deal was broken for the delivery of the Israeli Hets anti-missile systems to India (in the export version - Arrow), Kashin said.

“India, of course, purchases some weapons from the USA, for example, heavy transport aircraft. But on the whole, the Indian army doesn’t have enough American equipment to give up Delhi to refuse contracts with Russia, ”believes Leonkov.

Experts note that the line on diversification of international contacts, including in the defense sphere as a whole, is characteristic of the policies of the current leadership of India, in particular, for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BDP). This political force now has a large mandate of voter confidence, which allows it to pursue its own foreign policy. At the parliamentary elections held in April-May, the BDP won a landslide victory. In Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) she received a record 303 mandates out of 543. BDP leader Narendra Modi became the country's prime minister for the second time in a row.

"Must take action"

Meanwhile, the US-Indian relations are currently not at the highest level, political scientists say. So, in June, Donald Trump deprived India of its privileges in trade relations with the United States, which it enjoyed as part of the Generalized System of Preferences in favor of developing countries (GSP). The White House decided that duty-free deliveries of two thousand items of Indian goods are detrimental to the American economy. In response, India introduced duties on 28 items of American goods.

However, experts do not predict further aggravation of relations between India and the United States due to Delhi’s refusal to suspend the deal on S-400.

  • Indian soldiers at the parade
  • Reuters
  • © Ahmad Masood

“Americans have expressed their dissatisfaction with this deal in the past. But at the same time, they understand that the degree of India’s dependence on cooperation with Russia in the military sphere is very high and cannot be overcome, ”said Vasily Kashin.

In his opinion, Davidson’s statement about the “problem” related to the planned deliveries of Russian air defense systems to India is politically motivated. The US military wants to demonstrate to Congress that the Pentagon and the Trump administration are making efforts to protect US interests in the Asia-Pacific region (APR). But Americans most likely will not go for radical ways of disrupting the C-400 deal, Kashin said. No wonder in his speech, Admiral Davidson stressed that India, like the United States, is one of the countries with which the United States has established good relations.

“Trump, of course, is aware that the Americans must take some kind of response. But the US authorities will try not to be too zealous in this direction, because they understand that they will spoil relations with an important foreign policy partner with excessive pressure, ”Kashin said.