CAATSA...An Oxymoron?

[dinesha]

Trump-Putin Helsinki summit: Breakdown in White House-Congress relation may impact India-US ties
https://www.firstpost.com/world/donald- ... 62301.html

[vinod]

You can bet every penny known DT he will agree to come if India agrees to US terms of Zero Energy Imports from Iran , Tarriff besides other thing , He will put condition down and if we agree he may come.

DT is unpredictable. I think he will come because he loves a parade and also as he is bored in the WH. He liked the French parade too. But this did not make him a friend of the French. This maybe the case with India too.
Gautam

+1

[Austin]

US sanctions on Russia could harm India. Congress is wrestling over a fix.

[Philip]

It means harming US interests! Quite a play on words,after NS and others have stated openly that the S-400 deal is definitely on and that Indo-Iranian relations will be further strengthened. Any US sanctions will receive a similar reply from India,plus damage severely the growing Indo-US strategic dance,aimed at countering China,which the US wants to happen at India's expense,by buying more US arms!

I draw your attention to a US statement made some time ago that the N-deal with Snake-Oil Singh was all about India buying US arms.Suddenly out of nowhere we bought a huge qty. of C-17s (even more than NATO!),at huge expense when the IAF's top priority was the MMRCA-more fighters to replace the hundreds of legacy MIGs. That still hasn't happened because the bird chosen wasn't from the US.The US has used all its influence to sabotage the Rafale deal,which has been restricted to a small buy only,and is trying to tout its rejected legacy hags in a new MRCA deal. CAATSA is a crude attempt to replace all Russian milware with US toys.Even if the political will is there,the cost of such an exercise is way out of our financial capability.

[Manish_P]

..countering China,which the US wants to happen at India's expense,by buying more US arms!

..Even if the political will is there,the cost of such an exercise is way out of our financial capability.

+1

Now if only Khan unkil can gift us all those toys to counter the Panda, just like he did to our western neighbour to counter the Soviet Bhaloo, then we might consider it

Or say at discounts like 75%-80% off.. after all aren't we a "Major Defence Partner" or something like that now ?

[Rakesh]

I would not get American fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force, even if the US Govt gifted it for FREE.

The only way to stand up to Panda is having a strong, independent MIC. No foreign fighter aircraft can do that for you.

American foreign policy is extremely unstable and thus their platforms - while maybe great - are extremely unreliable. Sanctioned birds (F-16, F-18) are no better than unreliable birds i.e MiG-29K.

Remember the single engine dhaaga? A few on BRF were rolling their eyes, when we stated that America might impose sanctions on India. We were told that this is NOT the India of 1990s. What happened now?

Why is the US Administration working with the US Congress to give India a waiver? For a strategic partner, why should it even come to this stage?

We were asked to drink the kool aid on interoperability, a strong counter weight vis-a-viv China, etc. Admiral Lanba has clearly stated that the Quad does not have a military angle to it.

As I have said before, increased interoperability with America = increased dependence upon America.

[Manish_P]

I know Sir. I was just pointing to their duplicity/hypocrisy.

Look what they have now gifted Jihadistan. Obviously for their war against the Taliban Air Farce -

US is supplying 13 TPS -77 mobile radars and upgrades to existing 6 to PAF. Total 19 units.

[Austin]

US Sanctions Against Moscow Not Affecting Russia-India Cooperation – Envoy

US sanctions against Russian companies have no major impact on the Russian-Indian defense industry cooperation, including negotiations on the supply of Russia’s S-400 Triumf air defense systems to the South Asian country, Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev told Sputnik.

"[Russia and India] remain the closest partners, and all our defense industry agreements are being implemented. It concerns the purchase of S-400s and the joint production of Ka-226 helicopters, and many other projects. Do the sanctions create difficulties? Yes, they do, of a certain kind. But, frankly speaking, these difficulties are surmountable," Kudashev said, adding that solutions to overcome these obstacles would undoubtedly be found.

Commenting on US threats to impose sanctions against India if it purchases Russia’s S-400s, the ambassador said that Washington had never supported the Russian-Indian defense industry cooperation.

"The current situation is not an exception. A distinctive feature of the present time is the sanctions against Russian producers, which are a means of unfair competition and which are pursuing the goal of driving Russia out of the Indian defense sector and its military and political space," Kudashev explained.

[Austin]

US sanctions have no major impact on Indo-Russian defense ties: Envoy

[Austin]

US Seeks Waiver On Nations Buying Arms From Russia, India Not Mentioned


https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/us-seek ... ai-rum=off

Story Highlights

India is in talks to buy S-400 air defence systems from Russia
US officials say it is a significant military purchase
US sanctions will kick in if arms purchase is of advanced scale

[Rakesh]

I really hope they impose sanctions. Please impose it.

[Austin]

India not mentioned in waiver , why not ?

Hopefully it’s an eye opener to the powers that be once US sanctions india and future arms purchase from US should be completely avoided.

What sort of strategic partner ship model US wants to build up with india like the Paki one where one gets sanctioned according to their whims and fancies

If we get sanctioned just for buying arms which is our undisputed sovereign right then we will get sanctioned if we attack paki or go against any US interest

Putin once famously said US needs vassals not equal partners and it’s turning out to be true for lesser mortals nation like india

[kit]

I say sanctions now is much better than keeping on buying billions worth of arms stymying the indigenous weapons industry into the bargain ..and sanctioned on the whim of some senator who had a bad night !

[Austin]

In U.S.' zeal to mount frontal assault on Iran, India has become an inadvertent casualty: Ashley Tellis

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ ... 488688.ece

[Austin]

This just in: Congress will prohibit the sale of #F35s to Turkey until a report is submitted on purchasing the S-400. The Hill is evaluating all foreign military sales to #Turkey not just @LockheedMartin's F-3

[chola]

I say sanctions now is much better than keeping on buying billions worth of arms stymying the indigenous weapons industry into the bargain ..and sanctioned on the whim of some senator who had a bad night !

I second this. It would be the kick in the pants we need for the MIC.

[Austin]

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/23/poli ... index.html

Under the new authority, purchases of new equipment, like the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, would still face potential sanctions, while the maintenance of legacy systems such as the purchase of replacement parts for Russian-made helicopters could be exempted through the waiver process.

[Prem]

Congress Lets Some U.S. Allies Buy Russian Weapons Despite Sanctions
https://www.thedailybeast.com/congress- ... -sanctions

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who helped craft the defense bill from his perch on the armed services committee, told The Daily Beast that the final piece of legislation will exempt just three countries—India, Indonesia, and Vietnam—from a robust sanctions regime enacted and imposed last year.
“They are currently buying [Russian] equipment that has to be maintained until they make the transition, and those three fall into that category,” Inhofe said in a brief interview.“That was us,” Inhofe added, referring to the fact that Congress, not the Trump administration, decided which countries can obtain waivers. Congressional sources involved in the process told The Daily Beast that the Pentagon was vigorously lobbying lawmakers for broad waiver authority—something that even Trump’s biggest supporters on Capitol Hill weren’t prepared to authorize.According to the defense bill’s summary released Monday night, the “modified waivers” will “exclude the possibility of waivers for Russian intelligence agencies and other entities engaged in cyberattacks.” Additionally, the legislation requires the administration to certify whether India, Indonesia and Vietnam can remain exempt from sanctions. That means those countries must show that they are sufficiently reducing their reliance on Russian weapons systems.But others, like Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, argued that sanctioning India would drive that nation even closer to Russia.“The Pentagon has made a very strong case that we need India, we want to build a relationship there and not cut it off,” Smith told The Daily Beast last week. “We’re trying to craft a waiver that is not blanket, which says: you have to meet certain criteria in order to qualify for the waiver.”The Trump administration opposed key parts of the legislation and tried to water it down as lawmakers were writing it last year. The State Department and the Treasury Department have been criticized by Democrats and Republicans for not fully implementing the sanctions by the mandatory deadlines.

[chetak]

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/23/poli ... index.html

Under the new authority, purchases of new equipment, like the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, would still face potential sanctions, while the maintenance of legacy systems such as the purchase of replacement parts for Russian-made helicopters could be exempted through the waiver process.

the slimy amrekis are looking ahead. The deep state is back in action after having fumbled the ball.

They want to enforce a lock on the future purchases of russki equipment by India by grandly announcing a partial waiver now under the guise of a "reassessment of India's position" vis-a-vis the mil hardware already in the pipeline.

India must assert its rights to protect its own supreme national interests and not be pushed around by what some passing tenant of the white house is made to think.

The next tenant, as mandated again by the deep state, may think very differently and enforce an entirely new set of sanctions. This is a mug's game.

One way or another, it is only a matter of time before the amerikis get back together with the pakis. The CIA is a past master at this game.

It is merely a question of when and not if. The deep state has too much invested in the pakis, over the decades, to ever abandon its investment. At best, it may call a hiatus.

Besides, keeping India guessing on cashmere has always been one of the amerikis SD driven key foreign policy initiatives.

After all, Robin raphael just did not blossom out of the blue.

[Manish_P]

Chetak ji

The US has not abandoned Pakistan, so where is the question of getting back together

At an opportune time, after the chinese have put in a large enough investement and created infrastructure, the US will start very actions like surfacing the news/videos of the muslim persecution in China and get the Paki uniformed jihadis to turn their non-uniformed jihadis against the Chinese and get them out.

[Austin]

Any conditional waiver of CAATSA would be unacceptable to India and NS has said that in as many words.

So if their goal is we would gradually shift from Russian hardware and buy US hardware and in future purchase of more US equipment or as they say get under US infulence and if that is the line of argument US Gov is putting across to Congress to get a waiver that would be fine for their own internal pov but it wont work for India. They may just evoke CAATSA to blackmail Delhi in the future in the hope they would sell more arms to Delhi.

These guys are truly delusional and stay in their own make believe world.

[Rakesh]

Congress Lets Some U.S. Allies Buy Russian Weapons Despite Sanctions
https://www.thedailybeast.com/congress- ... -sanctions

“We’re trying to craft a waiver that is not blanket, which says: you have to meet certain criteria in order to qualify for the waiver.

The joys of being a superpower aka school yard bully

[kit]

Any conditional waiver of CAATSA would be unacceptable to India and NS has said that in as many words.

So if their goal is we would gradually shift from Russian hardware and buy US hardware and in future purchase of more US equipment or as they say get under US infulence and if that is the line of argument US Gov is putting across to Congress to get a waiver that would be fine for their own internal pov but it wont work for India. They may just evoke CAATSA to blackmail Delhi in the future in the hope they would sell more arms to Delhi.

These guys are truly delusional and stay in their own make believe world.

Isn't it obvious.. everyone and his uncle and aunty thinks India will keep buying arms till the world's end .. defence got a few thousand dollars as FDI

[Austin]

Exclusive: Army objects to military secrecy pact with US, fears America could leak data to Pakistan


https://theprint.in/security/army-objec ... tan/88046/

[chetak]

Any conditional waiver of CAATSA would be unacceptable to India and NS has said that in as many words.

So if their goal is we would gradually shift from Russian hardware and buy US hardware and in future purchase of more US equipment or as they say get under US infulence and if that is the line of argument US Gov is putting across to Congress to get a waiver that would be fine for their own internal pov but it wont work for India. They may just evoke CAATSA to blackmail Delhi in the future in the hope they would sell more arms to Delhi.

These guys are truly delusional and stay in their own make believe world.

What happens if an "amenable" govt in India takes office??

Lasting damage could be done, some decades could be lost before we are able to extricate ourselves from the evil web being woven to ensnare us.

Would the russkis wait that long??

Regarding COMCASA, the knowledge of the deployment plans, patterns and timings of the C5A movements, for instance, would divulge a lot of info that we certainly do not want in someone else's hands.

The CIA is paki pasand and untrustworthy. Their interests are usually inimical to Indian interests and are more attuned to the paki interests, PA and ISI, with whom they have been extraordinarily friendly for decades now.

[Austin]

Who would trust any bodys assurance much less US that they wont read your communication , You dont want even your friendly countries to read your communications much less your enemies.

They would read our communication and build a good intel about weapons , deployment patterns logistic etc and then quietly transfer to pakistan and chinese and claim it got stolen !

Giving anybody access to Hardware/SW crypto we use is like us Give someone enough rope to hang ourself

[Rakesh]

https://twitter.com/Chellaney/status/10 ... 0481295360 ---> Even if US Congress exempts India from sanctions under CAATSA—a new, Russia-targeting law—it won't be a blanket waiver. Rather India will have to show it is sufficiently reducing its reliance on Russian weapons. In effect, US will seek to influence India's arms procurement policy.

[VKumar]

Every customer has the option of choice between suppliers or refusing to buy at all.

[kit]

https://twitter.com/Chellaney/status/10 ... 0481295360 ---> Even if US Congress exempts India from sanctions under CAATSA—a India will have to show it is sufficiently reducing its reliance on Russian weapons. In effect, US will seek to influence India's arms procurement policy.

that means each and every arms deal between India and Russia will need to pass the US Congress !! .. If that is not the most shameful situation then what is ? Buying arms and trading away sovereignty as well

[kit]

Every customer has the option of choice between suppliers or refusing to buy at all.

not when you "buy" from america

[Rakesh]

Every customer has the option of choice between suppliers or refusing to buy at all.

not when you "buy" from america

Thanks kit.

VKumar, have you read what the CAATSA waiver is about?

[Rakesh]

Army fears US could leak data to Pakistan if India-US sign military secrecy pact
https://theprint.in/security/army-objec ... tan/88046/

The Pentagon’s position is that the agreement is required by law if the US is to export sensitive military equipment to a country.

New Delhi: The Indian Army has objected to a military secrecy pact with the United States ahead of the maiden ‘2+2’ dialogue involving the defence and foreign ministers of the two countries in Delhi this September. Speaking on the proposed Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), an official source told ThePrint, “We risk compromising our encrypted (coded) communication and a leak of information to Pakistan.”vIn a note to the government, the Indian Army has asked if it would be wise to sign the COMCASA. The government is yet to make up its mind.

The note makes two points:

1) The US was asked if signing the COMCASA could mean that it could listen to or see encrypted (coded) communication of the Indian military.

The US said yes, it could, but added that it was not its policy

2) The US was asked if this information could be shared with others, notably Pakistan.

The US said it had adequate firewalls.

The COMCASA is a re-named version of a pact that was first proposed more than 10 years ago, the Communications Interoperability and Secrecy Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA). The Pentagon’s position is that the COMCASA is required by law if the US is to export sensitive military equipment to a country, describing it as a “foundational agreement” for military-to-military cooperation. In the note, the Army said India was in the process of buying sensitive equipment from the US. This includes two major platforms: The M777 ultra light howitzers (the first of which have reached India) and the Apache AH 64E attack helicopters, for which a contract has been signed. The M777 is a piece of heavy artillery that is lightly carried. It can be transported by road and by air in the mountains. Conventional military sense is that India is buying these guns for use on the China frontier. The Apache attack helicopters — that are being inducted by the Army though it is an aerial weapon the Indian Air Force had asked for — are meant to support land forces as well as to interdict adversaries in tough terrain. It is meant primarily for the western (Pakistan) frontier.

There are other “foundational agreements” with the US that India has signed. They are:

1) An End User Verification understanding, by which US inspectors certify that “military platforms are being used for the purpose they are intended”.

2) A Logistics Support Agreement, renamed to make it India-specific, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA). This allows the militaries of the two countries to operate jointly without having to pay for the costs in cash but be able to barter facilities.

Both agreements are valid for 10 years, after which they have to be renewed. India has another military secrecy pact with the US: The General Secrecy of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). India, however, considers the GSOMIA to be “non-intrusive”, unlike COMCASA.

[Rakesh]

https://twitter.com/SJha1618/status/1022043538177945600 ---> So will India now have to first get a 'waiver' from America everytime it wants to buy something from Russia? Do not let America regulate India's defence purchases. Issue a statement clearly saying that waiver or no waiver, India would have gone ahead.

[Viv S]

US Congress tailors waiver plan to let India purchase weaponry from Russia

By Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 25th July 18

Both US houses of Congress – the Senate and the House of Representatives – have jointly drafted legislation that will allow President Donald Trump to exempt close partners such as India from sanctions for buying weaponry from Russia.

The National Defense Authorization Act, 2019 (NDAA 2019) – the agreed version of which was finalized on Monday – imposes conditions for the grant of a sanctions waiver by the US president.

Section 1294 of NDAA 2019 mandates that the waiver must promote “the national security interests of the United States”. Second, it should not involve a “significant transaction” with specified Russian security and intelligence agencies. Third, it should not endanger American alliances or coalitions or compromise US defence systems and operational capabilities.

The sanctions were imposed in mid-2017 when the US Congress, furious at what it regarded as Russian meddling in America’s 2016 presidential election, and at Trump’s apparent reluctance to retaliate against Moscow, passed a law entitled “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act” (CAATSA). Seeking to isolate Russia primarily, but also Iran and North Korea, it mandates sanctions against countries that engage in “significant transactions” with these countries’ defence and intelligence agencies.

However, Congress has been persuaded by the US administration, especially through hectic lobbying by Secretary for Defense Jim Mattis, that CAATSA would seriously compromise Washington’s relations with countries like India, Indonesia and Vietnam, which have a predominantly Russian arsenal and are, therefore, left with no choice but to deal with Russia to keep their weaponry serviceable.

NDAA 2019 is likely to enjoy smooth passage through Congress, since committees from both houses have agreed on the text of the bill.

Officials in the United States India Business Council (USIBC), which played a lead role in pushing the legislation through the joint Senate-House conference, point out that the language is aimed squarely at providing India an exemption from sanctions, with Indonesia and Vietnam being incidental beneficiaries.

“Without India, this waiver would have been substantially less likely to have been passed. The waiver conditions in the NDAA were tailored precisely to fit India so growth can continue in the India-U.S. defense relationship. The fact that this was done despite so many other political priorities in Washington DC demonstrates the robustness of U.S.-India ties,” says Ben Schwartz, who heads the aerospace and defence vertical of USIBC.

“At a time when India is focusing on growing defense ties with the US, we applaud Congress for also focusing on protecting this strategic partnership,” said Nisha Biswal, President, USIBC.

Schwartz points out that the third enabling clause -- which is that sanctions would “result in a significant negative impact to defense cooperation between the United States and the country” -- was inserted with India in mind.

Another piece of drafting enables India to bypass the clause that restricts waivers to countries that are “taking or will take steps to reduce its inventory of major defense equipment and advanced conventional weapons produced by the defense sector of the Russian Federation as a share of its total inventory… over a specified period.”

Knowing that India would be hard pressed to meet this clause, the NDAA 2019 draft says that, alternatively, the country should be “cooperating with the United States Government on other security matters that are critical to United States strategic interests.”

The legislation requires the US Secretaries of State and Defense to annually certify to the US Congress that the waiver has “not resulted in the compromise of United States systems and operational capabilities.”

Another part of NDAA 2019, Section 1266, seeks to build on the Major Defence Partnership between Washington and New Delhi by demanding a more detailed annual report to the US Congress on what the administration is doing to take forward the bilateral defence relationship.

It requires the annual report to include “a forward-looking strategy with specific benchmarks for measurable progress towards enhancing India’s status as a major defense partner and defense and security cooperation with India.”

The report must also detail hurdles in the relationship, actions India is taking to advance the relationship and measures that can improve interoperability between the two militaries.

“This institutionalises continuity in the relationship. It is Congress telling the US administration that we are watching, and we will hold you accountable for taking forward the US-India defence relationship,” said Schwartz.

[Rakesh]

Nice to see back in form Viv S!

If there is anyone who likes to sugarcoat CAATSA, it is Ajai Shukla. He makes it sound so sweet

While there is a waiver for India, I have yet to see anything to the effect that India is absolved from showing the US the steps being taken to reduce its inventory of major defence equipment from Russia.

Basically, he is spinning it.

[Viv S]

Nice to see back in form Viv S!

Actually, I'm late on the money. The final draft of NDAA-2019 was decided two days ago. But I've been travelling for a couple of weeks (and sleeping for the last 14 hours) and its too much of a pain to post stuff from the phone.

If there is anyone who likes to sugarcoat CAATSA, it is Ajai Shukla. He makes it sound so sweet

While there is a waiver for India, I have yet to see anything to the effect that India is absolved from showing the US the steps being taken to reduce its inventory of major defence equipment from Russia.

Its what the document says. To quote the relevant section (page 266) -
__________________________________

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would provide a modified procedure by which the President may use the existing authority under section 236(b) of CAATSA, without regard to the expedited review procedures in section 216 of CAATSA, to waive the application of sanctions if the President provides a certification to the appropriate congressional committees not less than 30 days in advance of the waiver taking effect.

The amendment would preclude the President from using the waiver with respect to a significant transaction with specified entities of the Russian defense or intelligence sectors, including the Main Intelligence Agency of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU), which the United States intelligence community assessed on January 6, 2017, played a direct role in Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election.

The President would be required to certify that the waiver is in the national security interests of the United States. The President would also be required to certify that the significant transaction for which the waiver is being used would not:

(1) endanger the integrity of any multilateral alliance of which the United States is a part;

(2) adversely affect ongoing operations of the Armed Forces of the United States, including coalition operations in which the such forces participate;

(3) result in a significant negative impact to defense cooperation between the United States and the country whose government has primary jurisdiction over the person; and

(4) significantly increase the risk of compromising United States defense systems and operational capabilities, including through the diversion of United States sensitive technology.

The President would be further required to certify that the government with primary jurisdiction over the person who engages in the signifi ant transaction is:

(1) taking or will take steps to reduce its inventory of major defense equipment and advanced conventional weapons produced by the defense sector of the Russian Federation as a share of its total inventory of major defense equipment and advanced conventional weapons over a specified period;

or cooperating with the United States Government on other matters that are critical to United States strategic national security interests.

__________________________________

^the operative word being 'OR'.

So basically the waiver won't apply to any 'significant transaction' with the GRU (easy since the GRU doesn't participate in the arms trade) and the executive will have to certify that the country in question is working with the US on critical strategic matters (a nebulous term allows easy justifications to be found).

[pankajs]

On ThePrint.in piece.

https://twitter.com/adgpi/status/1022382509651361792

ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY Verified account @adgpi

Reference to Indian Army is factually incorrect, Indian Army hasn't written note as mentioned in the article ‘Army fears US could leak data to Pakistan if India-US sign military secrecy pact’.@PIB_India @SpokespersonMoD @ThePrintIndia @vipulbansal2005

[Manish_P]

Nice to see back in form Viv S!

+1 Just a couple of days back i was wondering where Vis S and Brar_w were. In these very interesting times, both in US and in India

[Austin]

Sanctions relief: on waiver for India under CAATSA

The resolution of the CAATSA stand-off will let India and U.S. address other bilateral issues

The U.S. Congress’s report allowing the introduction of a presidential waiver of its controversial Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) will be greeted with a sense of relief in both New Delhi and Washington. The two governments have been working hard to avert a stand-off over the issue. The matter was particularly heated with India making it clear it would go ahead with the S-400 Triumf missile system deal with Russia regardless of the U.S. law and the threat of sanctions. CAATSA, signed reluctantly by President Donald Trump last August would have forced his administration to impose sanctions on any country carrying out significant defence and energy trade with sanctioned entities in Russia, Iran and North Korea. Mr. Trump had objected, arguing that the law took away his powers to decide on such matters. Indian delegations led by the Foreign Secretary had made a three-fold case for the waiver: that no weapons India bought would be used against the U.S.; that the U.S., which wants to partner with India in the Indo-Pacific, would hamper India’s military abilities by applying the sanctions or denying the country crucial technology; and that India has significantly reduced its dependence on Russian military hardware while increasing defence purchases from the U.S., and it would be unfair if the U.S. rewarded the effort with punitive measures. After months of testimony, including a final push for waiver for countries like India, Indonesia and Vietnam by U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis a few days ago, the Congressional committee has relented. The Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference, which reconciles House and Senate versions, has accepted the need for waivers. The “modified waiver authority”, or amendment to Section 231 of CAATSA proposed by Congress, allows the President to waive sanctions in certain circumstances, for six months at a time, as long as he certifies that it is in the U.S.’s national security interests and does not “endanger” ongoing operations.

While the resolution of CAATSA-related sanctions is welcome, it isn’t the only irritant in the U.S.-India relationship that needs the attention of the External Affairs and Defence Ministers at the ‘2+2 dialogue’ with their American counterparts scheduled for September. The sanctions proposed by the Trump administration for energy trade with Iran still loom, as do possible punitive measures at the World Trade Organisation over tariffs and counter-tariffs the two countries have imposed on each other. New Delhi will also be aware that the waivers are contingent on Mr. Trump’s continued support to Indian defence requirements. Given the capricious and unpredictable policy swings Mr. Trump has shown, it will be prudent for New Delhi not to presume that the problems over CAATSA have fully blown over.

[kit]

https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/ ... on-COMCASA

The Indian Express reported July 26 that the government in New Delhi has agreed to sign the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) with the United States. India reportedly asked the U.S. government to send the final text of the agreement to New Delhi so that preparations can be made to sign it during an upcoming September 6 meeting. The "2+2" meeting will occur between Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and their U.S. counterparts Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

COMCASA for CAATSA ?