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Saturday, Apr 28, 2007
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We have a very clear approach on nuclear talks, says Menon

Amit Baruah

Team sent to Vienna to make a presentation to the NSG

NEW DELHI: "What Parliament tells us and what our Government decides is what guides our negotiators," Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs about the ongoing talks with the United States on civilian nuclear cooperation. Mr. Menon, who leaves for Washington to hold talks on the issue on April 30 and May 1, said India had a "very clear approach" on what was being discussed.

"Whatever we do with the U.S. will not affect our nuclear strategic programme; secondly it will not in any way involve our three such [stage?] indigenous civil nuclear energy programmes," he was quoted as saying in the committee's 15th report, tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

"Thirdly, I think we would respect and implement what the Prime Minister said to Parliament on August 17 last year when he laid down the red lines we will not cross, which I think commands broad support across the political spectrum," the Foreign Secretary said.

The Americans had told New Delhi that nothing in the Hyde Act of 2006, which allowed for civilian nuclear cooperation with New Delhi, was incompatible with the joint statement and the separation plan, he said.

"Our job, as I see it, is to implement the joint statement, the separation plan and the parameters that were outlined by the Prime Minister in Parliament."

On how soon the Nuclear Suppliers Group could be expected to lift restrictions on India, the External Affairs Ministry replied that both India and the U.S. were engaging the NSG member-States to adjust their guidelines in relation to New Delhi.

"India had sent a team to Vienna to make a presentation to the NSG during its consultative group meeting in October 2006. Our delegation used the opportunity to interact bilaterally with several NSG countries. Earlier, we used the IBSA [India-Brazil-South Africa] summit in September [2006] to bring up this issue with South Africa and Brazil," the Ministry told the Committee.

The Ministry pointed out that India, while welcoming the passage of the Hyde Act, had noted that the legislation contained "certain extraneous and prescriptive" provisions.

"We have also maintained that our obligations and commitments will be those that we undertake in the bilateral 123 agreement [with the U.S.] and that we expect that to reflect the commitments of [the] July 18 joint statement and the separation plan," the Ministry said.

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