NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that United States President George W. Bush had assured him that he did not intend shifting the goalposts of the July 2005 civilian nuclear agreement. However, if extraneous elements, not envisaged in the agreement, found their way into it, we would draw "appropriate conclusions," Dr. Singh said.

The U.S. Congressional process was not yet over and he could not predict what would emerge. "If it goes in a direction that hurts us, we will draw appropriate conclusions and will do nothing that will compromise the scope of our strategic programme, which will be determined by the people, the Government and Parliament," he said in a 40-minute reply to a discussion on the agreement.

Dr. Singh assured the members that there would be no cap on fissile material production, the additional protocol to be signed with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be India-specific and fast breeder reactors excluded from surveillance.

Dr. Singh said the Iran vote at the IAEA came in a different context and was not linked to the deal with the U.S.

In addition to building close ties with the U.S., India was reaching out to Russia, the European Union, the Arab world, China and the neighbouring countries. "Our foreign policy is "subservient [to] only national interest."

While the Government remained committed to Rajiv Gandhi's vision of a nuclear-free world, as also the policies of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, nuclear weapons were a reality and the country must keep its strategic options open and do nothing to hurt this while continuing to work for universal disarmament.

It was decided to close CIRUS by 2010 and shift the core of the APSARA because India did not want the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre inspected. As for an additional protocol with the IAEA, he said it would be specific to India and there was "no question of American inspectors roaming on [our] nuclear facilities."

He said, "India is not willing to give any commitment on further testing. It is for unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing but if we are required to test we have the sovereign right to do what we require. We are not in favour of having a bilateral CTBT [Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty]."

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