In a meeting with his Indian counterpart, Ragat Singh, on Saturday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed India’s intention to purchase the Russian S-400 air defense system, and reiterated that US allies should not purchase Russian equipment to avoid US sanctions.

Austin met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after arriving in New Delhi on Friday.

The US Secretary will leave India on Sunday.

"We definitely urge all our allies and partners to stay away from Russian materiel, and to avoid acquiring it in any way that causes sanctions on our part," Austin told reporters in New Delhi.

He added that India had not received any shipment of the S-400 air defense system and therefore the possibility of imposing sanctions had not been discussed.

Last year, the United States imposed sanctions on Turkey after it bought S-400 missiles.

In 2019, India paid an initial payment of $ 800 million to purchase the defense system from Russia, and it expects the first batteries of the missiles to arrive later this year.

Before Austin traveled to India, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Mendez asked him to raise democracy and human rights concerns in his talks with the Indian government, and to reiterate President Joe Biden's administration's objection to India's planned purchase of Russian missiles.

Austin’s visit to India, the first by a prominent member of the Biden administration, comes as part of efforts to form a coalition of countries aiming to counter China's influence in the region.

Reuters reported Friday that the United States is one of India's largest arms sellers.

The two sides will discuss India's plans to purchase armed drones from the United States, as well as a mega-deal of more than 150 combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force to help narrow the gap with China.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin are at the forefront of competing for billions of dollars in combat aircraft contracts.

US defense companies have signed billions of dollars in deals to supply India with military equipment, including helicopters, as part of the modernization of the Indian armed forces, which plans to invest about $ 250 billion for that.

Russia and India

Nevertheless, Russia remains the largest supplier of arms to India.

Modi signed a $ 5.4 billion deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 to purchase the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

The agreement is subject to a US embargo on Russian arms sales, and India has been negotiating for years to avoid sanctions, as happened with Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), when it requested the purchase of the S-400 system.

India converged with the United States last year after border clashes with China.

Washington helped New Delhi by renting surveillance drones and providing equipment for Indian forces to cope with the cold weather.

The US Secretary of Defense praised India's "increasing commitment", noting that they are "partners on the same wavelength", at a time when China's activity in the region raises concern for the two countries.

Relations between the United States and India have always been difficult.

But shared concerns about China have led to a rapprochement between the two since Modi came to power in 2014 and under President Donald Trump (2017-2021).

In 2016, the United States designated India a "major defense partner".

The two countries have since signed a series of agreements to facilitate the transfer of precision weapons and deepen military cooperation.