NEW DELHI, India (BulgarianMilitary.com) – On 5 November, Russia and India have signed a contract for the supply of five Russian air defence missile systems S-400, needed by the Indian army, learned BulgarianMilitary.com

The contract is worth $543 billion and it is actually the third country, after China and Turkey, which will acquire these systems.

“We follow an independent policy” were the words of the Chief of Army Staff of India, Bipin Rawat. He also emphasized that India is well aware of the fact that the U.S. may impose a sanction against his country, but according to him, this is a right and decision of the U.S.

Read more: India Will Soon Acquire Five S-400 Triumf Air Defence Systems from Russia

“You can be rest assured that while we may be associating with America in getting some technology, but we follow an independent policy. While we are talking sanctions and you are questioning on sanctions, President Vladimir Putin and Mr. Narendra Modi, at this juncture, are signing the treaty on purchase of S-400 weapon system inspite of the fact that we may face challenges from America in the future,” Bipin Rawat concluded.

We recall that the U.S. has expressed its concern about India’s desire to acquire the Russian S-400 systems and has not excluded the imposing of sanctions under the CAATSA law, which is to counter America’s adversaries through sanctions.

Read more: A Joint Indo-Russian Military Exercise (Indra 2018) Is Coming

Earlier, Randall Schriver, who is assistant secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, has admitted the relationships, over the years, between Russia and India, but he expressed desire that India should“ reorient itself”.

One of the largest customers of the Russian military-industrial complex is India. The Asian country annually buys military equipment for billions of dollars from its Russian partners, assuming that 70% of the armament in the Indian Army is Russian.

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Source: RIA Novosti