jpnn.com, INDIA - Russia has started supplying India with the S-400 air defense missile system, said a Russian military official as quoted by the Interfax news agency.
The missile shipments put India at risk of sanctions from the United States.
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"The first supplies have started," Interfax quoted Dmitry Shugayev, head of Russia's military cooperation agency, saying at an aviation exhibition in Dubai.
He said the first units of S-400 missiles would arrive in India by the end of this year.
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The US$5.5 billion deal was signed in 2018 to supply long-range surface-to-air missile systems. India said the missiles were needed to deal with threats from China.
India is at risk of financial sanctions from the US under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) which names Russia, North Korea, and Iran as enemies of the US for their actions on Ukraine, interfered with the 2016 US election, and aided Syria.
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New Delhi said it had strategic partnerships with both the US and Russia, while Washington says India would not be excluded from CAATSA.
Last year, the US used CAATSA to sanction Turkey, their NATO ally, for buying S-400 missiles from Russia.
The sanctions target Turkey's defense procurement and development agency, the Presidency of Defense Industries.
Washington also removed Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program, the most advanced fleet in the US arsenal, used by NATO members and other US allies.
Russia said it had offered Turkey assistance in developing an advanced fighter jet, but so far no agreement has been reached.
"We are still at the negotiation stage on this project," Shugayev said, as quoted by RIA news agency on Sunday. (ant/dil/mcr20/jpnn)
This news has been broadcast on JPNN.com with the title: Langgar Pantangan dari AS, India Terancam Bernasib seperti Turki