*WASHINGTON – US Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday spoke in supportof waivers for sanctions being imposed against nations buying military gearfrom Russia.*

The move comes amid concerns that imposing sanctions, particularly in thecase of India and other Asian allies, could threaten friendly relationshipsthat the US has been working to bolster in recent years.

India, the world´s top defense importer, has purchased Russian militaryhardware and expertise for decades, and has been in talks with Moscow tobuy S-400 long range surface-to-air missile systems.

Last year, US lawmakers, seeking to punish Russia for its efforts toundermine Western democracy, passed the Counter America´s AdversariesThrough Sanctions Act, or CAATSA.

“Russia should suffer consequences for its aggressive, destabilisingbehavior and its illegal occupation of Ukraine,” Mattis said in a statement.

“However, as we impose necessary and well-deserved costs for their malignbehavior, providing the Secretary of State with a CAATSA waiver authorityis imperative.”

Under CAATSA, any entity doing business with Russia´s state, semi-state andprivate defense and intelligence sectors could face economic sanctions.

Appropriate CAATSA waivers allow “nations to build a closer securityrelationship with the US as they continue to transition from reliance onRussian military equipment,” said Mattis, who visited India last year.

India has increasingly turned to the US and France for arms purchases, butis still reliant on Russian hardware and expertise to maintain its existingarsenal.

Mattis said the main question is whether the US wants to strengthen“partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn toRussia.”

Amid this week´s fallout from President Donald Trump´s widely criticisedperformance at the Helsinki summit with President Vladimir Putin, someDemocrats called for a tightening of Russia sanctions.

In August last year, US lawmakers, angered by Russia´s alleged meddling inthe US presidential election and invasion of Ukraine, passed CAATSA overobjections from the White House to oblige a reluctant Trump to cast a widersanctions net and prevent him from scaling back existing measures.

The State Department did not directly comment on Mattis´s suggestion ofsanctions waivers.

“This Administration is fully committed to implementing CAATSA,” a StateDepartment spokesperson told AFP..

“We have discussed CAATSA with the government of India, and the UnitedStates is working with our partners including India to help them identifyand avoid engaging in potentially sanctionable activity.” – APP/AFP