India inks deal to acquire S-400 missile shield from Russia; US issues guarded response

After months of walking the tight-rope, India on Friday inked a USD 5 billion deal to purchase the much-vaunted S-400 air defence system from Russia, amidst US warnings of punitive sanctions against nations doing "significant" business with Moscow.

The deal, signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit here, however, was underplayed by New Delhi, perhaps in a bid to keep its robust ties with Washington unblemished.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Putin, who held their annual summit, did not mention the S-400 deal in their respective press statements. Government officials also did not publicly announce the inking of the deal. However, official sources confirmed that it was signed -- by a joint secretary-level official in the defence ministry from the Indian side.

A top Indian official said: "Now that the contract is signed I presume the time-line (for the payment mechanism) has to be fairly soon."
Russian news agency TASS also confirmed the the deal was signed, quoting Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov as saying, it was concluded "on the sidelines of the visit."
However, the US embassy spokesperson here while responding to a query said that the CAATSA was aimed at Moscow and not intended to damage the military capabilities of its "allies and partners."