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Nuclear suppliers still discuss Delhi deal
A 45-nation meeting on whether to lift a ban on nuclear trade with India ended inconclusively on Friday after many concerns were raised, leaving the future of a controversial US-Indian nuclear deal unclear.
- AP
- Published: 21:11 August 22, 2008
Vienna: A 45-nation meeting on whether to lift a ban on nuclear trade with India ended inconclusively on Friday after many concerns were raised, leaving the future of a controversial US-Indian nuclear deal unclear.
The countries in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will meet again on September 4-5 to resolve the matter, diplomats said.
The Nuclear Suppliers Group , currently headed by Germany, governs the legal global trade in nuclear materials and operates by consensus.
The group must agree to allow nuclear fuel and technology exports to India to help seal the 2005 US-Indian accord.
The bilateral deal has disturbed pro-disarmament nations and campaigners because India has declined to join the global Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and developed nuclear bombs with Western technology imported ostensibly for civilian ends.
Washington and some allies assert that it will shift India, the world's largest democracy, towards the non-proliferation treaty and will combat global warming by fostering use of low-polluting nuclear energy in developing economies.
But to the apparent surprise of Washington at the two-day meeting, almost half the suppliers' group membership proposed amendments to a US draft for a waiver which would allow India to do business with the cartel, diplomats said.
Many felt India's readmission to nuclear markets could weaken the treaty unless the waiver text was firmed up to safeguard treaty principles and avoid indirectly benefiting New Delhi's nuclear arsenal.
In closed session on Friday, group members discussed conditions further but, far from reaching the required consensus for a decision, agreed to hold a follow-up meeting on September 4-5, participants said.
The United States was expected to rework the draft taking account of their concerns and reintroduce it at the next session, according to diplomats at the Vienna meeting.
"Participating governments exchanged views in a constructive manner and agreed to meet again in the near future," a group statement said.
John Rood, the US acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, told reporters that participants would continue to work on the concerns.
"I remain very optimistic we will continue to make progress toward this important goal," Rood said.
Diplomats said the Bush administration lobbied for group members to approve an exemption this week to gain time for final ratification of the deal by the US Congress before it adjourns later next month for November elections.
The US-India agreement would reverse more than three decades of US policy that has barred the sale of nuclear fuel and technology to India, a country that has not signed international nonproliferation accords and has tested nuclear weapons.
If the deal is approved it would enable other countries to strike similar deals with India.
The International Atomic Energy Agency gave India the green light earlier this month.
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