Russia and China want US to sanction India: Mukesh Aghi

The annual India-Russia summit in New Delhi on 6 December culminated in new defence deals and more than two dozen pacts in diverse areas. On the sidelines, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hailed the S-400 air defence missile systems deal with India, and openly accused the United States of undermining India-Russia cooperation and trying to make India “obey American orders”.
The Delhi-Moscow bonhomie was closely watched in Washington, with a distinct sense of unease about the impact the S-400 deal may have on India-US relations. In this wide-ranging interview, Dr Mukesh Aghi, President & Chief Executive Officer of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, says that the US won’t impose sanctions on India under CAATSA for S-400, as such a step can set India-US partnership back by decades and will only benefit the US’ key adversaries, China and Russia.