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No nuclear deal with others: Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns

WASHINGTON: Stating that India was a “unique” case, the Bush administration has ruled out a similar civilian nuclear deal with any other country including ally Pakistan, and stressed that the “very high bar” of the Nuclear Suppliers Group on proliferation would prevent other nations from getting the same “treatment” as New Delhi.

“This is complicated enough, I can assure you, that the United States is not going to suggest a similar deal with any other country in the world. We’ve always felt of India as an exception,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said during a briefing on the Indian civilian nuclear initiative here on Friday.

“We have made the argument that India has not proliferated its nuclear technology; that India, in effect, outside the system, has played by the rules and that the system would be strengthened by bringing it in. But we’re not anticipating, in any way, shape or form, a similar deal for any other country,” he said.

Mr. Burns said once India completed a safeguards agreement with IAEA chief Mohamed El Baradei, “then the action — September, October, I hope, November — will turn to the NSG.”

He said there was a “very high bar” in the NSG as “every single one of the 45 countries has to agree” for a consensus. Mr. Burns said India’s willingness to commit a state-of-the-art facility for reprocessing under IAEA safeguards was a “turning point” in the negotiations. — PTI

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