On the day US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in India, a top official in the External Affairs Ministry exuded confidence that India will receive essential sanctions waivers under CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) on the purchase of S-400 air missile defence systems from Russia.
On 21 June, a US Department of State official said: “With respect to the S-400, we’re urging all of our allies and partners, India included, to forgo transactions with Russia that risk triggering the CAATSA sanctions… This is a time we will be encouraging India to look at alternatives.”