UNITED NATIONS - Pakistan is concerned about India moving closer to acquiring Russian S-400 air defence systems and urges Moscow not to bet on New Delhi alone, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told Sputnik in an interview.
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On Thursday, local media reported that Indian authorities are ready to sign a $5.43 billion contract to purchase five regiments of Russian S-400 Triumph air defence systems.
“That is the problem,” Chaudhry said on Friday when asked what Islamabad thinks of the possible purchase by India. “India is using its might against Pakistan, they are building their power against Pakistan, and that is very unfair. We know that Russia and India have a relationship, but now I think Pakistan is also getting closer to Russia, so Russia should not place its bets on India only.”
Russia and Pakistan’s relationship, Chaudhry added, is improving day by day and Islamabad is looking forward to working closely with Moscow on defence, trade and economic issues.
According to the Times of India media outlet, the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave consent to the purchase of the Russian air defence systems. The decision was reportedly made ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country, set for early October.
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India could become the third foreign buyer of these systems, following China and Turkey. Also, negotiations on the S-400 deliveries are continuing with Saudi Arabia. The United States voiced its concern over the Indian plans to purchase the S-400 systems, pointing out that sanctions over the deal could not be ruled out.
Responding to a question, Fawad Chaudhry said Pakistan is open to dialogue with India, but believes domestic political affairs in India prevent New Delhi from engaging in cooperation.
“Internal politics of India forced Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi to withdraw from acceptance of dialogue, but we want dialogue,” Chaudhry said on Friday.
He explained that when Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan took office he said he wanted to normalise relations with India. “This offer was accepted, but just within 24 hours the group within the ruling party forced Prime Minister Modi to withdraw from this acceptance,” the minister added.
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“We stand for peace, and we offered talks to resolve our issues. India and Pakistan have been fighting on the issue of Kashmir for seven decades. Now there is an uprising in Kashmir against the Indian rule,” Chaudhry said, adding “It depends on India. We are open for talks.”
To another question, the minister said Pakistan is uncertain about whether the United States will resume its aid to the country and sees US policy in Afghanistan as confusing.
“Right now we are not certain about that,” Chaudhry said when asked about the prospects of resumption of US funding.
Chaudhry said the US decision to suspend aid illustrates how Washington seems to contradict itself in the region. “The US is running a confusing policy in Afghanistan. One side of the political establishment says they are going out of Afghanistan, other groups within the US establishment don’t want to leave Afghanistan. So when you are confused, what you do is you try to blame others for your failures,” he added.
https://nation.com.pk/30-Sep-2018/russia-india-s-400-air-defence-systems-deal-problematic-pakistan
Can India Control Pakistan’s Airspace with Russian S-400 Missile Defence Systems?
India is fully prepared to buy the S-400 Missile Defense Systems from Russia. President Vladimir Putin is reaching India this week and it is being speculated that both countries can announce the deal during Putin’s visit. EurAsian Times analyses why India is hell-bent on purchasing the S-400 Air Defense Systems, despite continued US pressure and persistence? Secondly what impact will the S-400 systems create on arch-rivals Pakistan?
As reported by EurAsian times earlier, the US does not want India to go ahead with the S-400 this deal with Russia. In the “two-plus-to-one” meeting in New Delhi on September 6 last month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Defense Secretary James Mattis met Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It is being said that due to this deal, there will be a threat of economic sanctions of the US on India, but New Delhi is just not relenting.
S-400: What Makes It So Special?
The S-400 is considered the most effective air defence system in the world. Russia’s official news agency Sputnik says that before President Putin’s visit to India, the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Narendra Modi approved the purchase of five S-400 air defence systems for more than $ 5 billion from Russia.
The USA passed the Countering America’s Advisers Through Securities Act (CAATSA) Act against Russia in August 2017 for alleged Russian intervention in the presidential election of 2016. This law was passed by the US to punish the Russian government. CAATSA has been effective since January 2018. India wants US exemption from this law in its relations with Russia.
This law of the United States prohibits countries who deal with arms in Russia. The US recently passed the US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which gives the Trump Administration an exemption under the CAATSA to those countries whose defence relationship with Russia is very old.
S-400 is mobile and can be deployed within five to 10 minutes as soon as the order is received. The S-400 is comparable to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) of the US. The Almaz-Entente Group, which manufactures the S-400, says that the maximum range of 40N6E is 400 kilometers and it can distinguish its target at a height of 30 kilometers.
Direct Impact on Pakistan ::
Is Pakistan’s anxious after India decided to purchase the hight capable S-400 systems from Russia? In response to this question, a senior defence expert that EurAsian Times talked to said “It is very worrisome for Pakistan. After the S-400 arrives, India can literally control the airspace of Pakistan, especially the bordering regions.
The defence expert also stated that India started to procure weapons from the United States, and in response, defence relations between Pakistan and Russia gradually started to grow. India feared that Pakistan would also demand S-400 from Russia (despite being financially unstable) and thus laid a condition that Delhi will only go ahead with the S-400 deal if Moscow assures that S-400 will never be supplied to Pakistan.