The Hill
The Biden administration is considering whether to impose sanctions against India over its dependence on Russian military equipment as part of the wide-ranging consequences the West is seeking to impose on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Donald Lu, the assistant secretary of State for South Asian affairs, told lawmakers in a hearing that the administration is weighing how threatening India's historically close military relationship with Russia is to U.S. security.
The administration is looking at the broader question of whether to apply sanctions under the law or not.
The Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act was passed after the Kremlin interfered in the U.S. elections.
The law allows waivers for the president until December 2020 when the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Turkey for buying the Russian S400 missile defense system.
India was named a major defense partner by the U.S. in 2016 in order to elevate defense trade and technology. Since 2008, defense contracts between the U.S. and India have reached $20 billion.
India is a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with the U.S., Japan and Australia, which is meant to counter China's ambitions in the Pacific.
The White House said that President Biden held a video call with leaders of the Quad on Thursday to discuss the war against Ukraine.
Lu told lawmakers that the administration is trying to understand whether defense technology that we are sharing with India today can be adequately safeguarded given India's historical relationship with Russia and its defense sales.
He said that it was critical that the United States was able to assure itself that any defense technology it shared was sufficiently protected.
Lu said the administration has been engaged in a pitched battle with Indian officials over the past couple of months. President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior officials in the State Department urged New Delhi to take a clearer position against Russia.
The secretary said that India's abstention at the United Nations and its commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine are promising steps in a shift in its public position and that he expects an even greater shift in the aftermath of outrage at the death of an Indian student.
Lu said that he had had several conversations with Indian officials in the last 24 hours.
The U.S. President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russians on Thursday, as Russian forces continued to pound Ukraine. (March 3)
The Biden administration announced new sanctions against Russian businessmen and their families on Thursday.
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