Extraordinary situations require extraordinary measures. COVID-19, which affects almost the whole world, makes countries move to unexpected steps.
The United States, where coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly, has made an extraordinary decision in the fight against epidemic and procured medical devices from Russia. What makes this step radical is that the ventilators were purchased from the Kret company, a subsidiary of Rostec, which is a Russian defence company and embargoed under CAATSA. Russia's medical aid package and ventilators acquired from Kret recently arrived at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport with the An-124 (NATO Code: Condor) airlifter.
CAATSA sanctions prohibit procurement from all companies where a listed company works horizontally and vertically. In the statement made by the USA, it was stated that the companies required for humanitarian aid and procurement of medical devices due to the epidemic could be exempted from CAATSA exceptionally. Kret was added in the sanction list in 2014 due to the production of electronic warfare and intelligence equipment. Thus, the USA violated its own embargo system. According to the report of the Financial Times, the US Government announced that such transactions could be approved due to national security and foreign policy requirements.
