International - India & World   

Russia offers help to lift nuclear curbs on India

Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW : President Vladimir Putin pledged Russia's support for India to get international restrictions on civilian nuclear technology transfers lifted.

The Russian leader made the promise while receiving External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh at his residence in Novo-Ogoryovo near Moscow on Thursday.

"Russia is helping India indeed in the Nuclear Suppliers Group," Mr. Singh said after the hour-long meeting. He specifically mentioned a recent NSG meeting in Vienna where the India case was discussed. "Russia, as well as the United States helped us at the Vienna meeting."

Russia had promised to set up four more nuclear reactors at Koodankulam in addition to two reactors it is currently erecting there once the NSG guidelines for India are modified to allow n-technology supplies.

Mr. Singh told newspersons that nuclear energy had been identified as a priority area of Indo-Russian cooperation along with defence and space.

"We hope energy cooperation will emerge as a strong pillar of our strategic partnership," Mr. Natwar Singh said. "We're fully prepared both technologically and financially to expand our presence in the Russian energy sector."

The Minister said a detailed plan to intensify Indo-Russian engagement in the energy sphere should be ready by the next bilateral summit in early December when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Russia. Russia's Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko will attend an Asian Oil and Gas ministerial meeting in Delhi next month.

A host of bilateral agreements that are being prepared for the summit include a defence secrecy protection pact, an agreement on utilisation of the rupee debt funds for investment, an accord on India's support for Russian entry in WTO and a visa facilitation agreement.

Welcoming the Minister at this residence, Mr. Putin said the Indo-Russian relation was at an "unprecedented high" and said high-level political contacts had been going on "practically uninterrupted".

The controversial issue of Iran's nuclear programme came up "briefly" for discussion between two leaders "in the context of the International Atomic Energy Agency," Mr. Singh said. Russia has firmly and consistently opposed the United States push to refer the Iran case to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. Speaking at the Russian premium diplomat-training institute, MGIMO, earlier on Thursday Mr. Singh strongly came out against sending the Iran nuclear programme file to the Security Council.

"Iran's peaceful nuclear programme must be discussed in the IAEA framework and must not go beyond it," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted the Minister as telling MGIMO students and professors. Mr. Singh also expressed the hope that the U.S. would not repeat the mistakes they made in Iraq and would not resort to the use of force against Iran.

Mr, Singh met Pakistani Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. Both India and Pakistan joined the SCO as observers in July. Mr. Singh said they mainly discussed the assistance Pakistan needs in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake earlier this month. He said India had said three consignments of relief supplies to Pakistan and pledged $25 million in cash through the Red Cross.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Sunni, Shia groups clash near Baghdad; 23 killed
Indian workers seek Blair's intervention
Okinawa base deal faces opposition
Bush nominee for Supreme Court post withdraws from race
Annual quota of H1B visas may be raised
Teheran faces flak
Israel asks U.N. to expel Iran
Airport fire kills 11 illegal immigrants
Former Chinese Vice-President dead
Nepal threatens to shut radio station
New storm forms in Caribbean Sea
Internal feud in ANC growing
Russia offers help to lift nuclear curbs on India
India clears the air with Iran

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu