US President Joe Biden has invited 110 countries to a virtual summit on democracy on December 9-10, excluding China, Turkey, and Russia, according to a list posted on the State Department website on Tuesday, reported news agency ANI.
The list includes Taiwan which is likely to increase tension between US and China. Turkey, a member of NATO, is also missing from the list. The list includes major Western allies of the US. It also includes India, Pakistan and Iraq. In the South Asian region Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka have been excluded.
Meanwhile, The United States has not made a determination yet on any potential Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) waiver to India with regard to its purchase of S-400 missile defense system from Russia, the Biden Administration said Tuesday.
The State Department comments come a week after India started receiving the supplies of S-400 missile defense system from Russia and amidst calls from top Republican and Democratic lawmakers not to impose CAATSA sanctions on India.
Asserting that it values its "strategic partnership" with India, a State Department official maintained the Biden Administration's suspense over the issue by telling reporters CAATSA does not have a blanket or country-specific waiver provision attached to it.
"We would need to refer you to the Indian government for any comments on potential deliveries of the S-400 system. But we have been clear when it comes to the system, not only in the Indian context but more broadly as well, that we've urged all of our allies, all of our partners to forego transactions with Russia that may risk triggering sanctions under so-called CAATSA, the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. We have not made a determination on a potential waiver with respect to Indian arms transactions with Russia," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.
"CAATSA, however, does not have a blanket or country-specific waiver provision attached to it. We also know that our defense relationship with India has expanded and deepened significantly in recent years. It's deep and commensurate with the broad and deep relationship that we have with India and its status as a major defense partner," he said.
"We expect this strong momentum in our defense relationship to continue. We certainly value our strategic partnership with India. As you know, we had an opportunity to travel to India not all that long ago. In August, I believe it was, we've met with Foreign Minister Jaishankar many times. We have discussed this concern directly, including with the highest levels in the Indian government," Price said in response to a question.
Several members of the US Congress, he said, have shown deep interest on the issue.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
