The Hindu : Front Page : ‘Breakthrough’ in nuclear deal

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Sunday, Jul 22, 2007
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‘Breakthrough’ in nuclear deal

Special Correspondent

New Delhi: At the end of four days of what was described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the “last leg” of negotiations between India and the United States over the proposed nuclear accord, the two countries claimed on Saturday to have made “substantial progress” on the “outstanding issues in the 123 agreement.”

According to a joint press statement issued in Washington, the matter will now be referred to the two Governments “for final review.” Authoritative details of what the two sides have agreed upon are not available, though news agencies from Washington are reporting a “breakthrough.”

The statement came at the end of talks the Indian side had in Washington. It was led by National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, and Atomic Energy Secretary Anil Kakodkar. Mr. Narayanan and Mr. Menon met U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condolezza Rice, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, and U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen P. Hadley.

Most reports suggest that Washington has partly conceded India’s right to reprocess spent fuel produced by any American reactor(s) and imported under the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative.

However, the Manmohan Singh Government is not showing any sign of exuberance over the reported “breakthrough.” According to informed sources, Mr. Narayanan briefed the Prime Minister late on Friday night on what was achieved. These sources cautiously describe the deal as “done.”

The only official comment came from External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who told reporters at the Parliament House that “the work of the negotiators is over. Now, they will let us know what transpired. The Government will then decide.”

Speaking to The Hindu from Washington, Mr. Narayanan said he “was satisfied and happy; both sides are happy.” According to him, the key phrase in the joint statement is progress “on the outstanding issues” an d the only reason why details are not being released yet is that an agreement that the principals on both sides ought to have a look at the text of the agreement and decide when to make it public.

The Cabinet Committee on Security is expected to meet early next week to review the negotiators’ first hand report.

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