US Takes Firm Line In Nuclear Negotiations With India

India Bans Nuclear Exports To North Korea And Iran
New Delhi (AFP) India, April 20 - India has banned all imports and exports of products to North Korea and Iran that could aid their suspect nuclear programmes, a report said Thursday. The ban was notified in India's foreign trade policy unveiled by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday and is is in compliance with UN Security Council resolutions, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. "The government has prohibited direct and indirect export and import of materials, goods and technology which could contribute to North Korea's nuclear-related, ballistic missile-related or other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes," the report quoted the policy document as saying. New Delhi has "also prohibited direct or indirect export and import of all items, materials, goods and technology which could contribute to Iran's enrichment-related, reprocessing or heavy water-related activities, or to development of its nuclear weapons delivery systems," it added. India maintains diplomatic relations with North Korea, and had also incurred international isolation after carrying out nuclear tests in 1998. Energy-hungry India, which is negotiating a civilian nuclear energy deal with the United States that will give New Delhi access to previously forbidden technology, has repeatedly called for talks to resolve the row over Iran's suspect nuclear ambitions.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Apr 19, 2007
The United States on Thursday ruled out bending its laws to allow India to retain the right to resume nuclear weapons testing under a civilian nuclear energy deal being negotiated by the two governments. "It's an issue that's covered by our law and ... in as much as it is affected by, it bumps up against US law, we're not going to change our laws," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said when asked about India's stance on nuclear testing.

He was speaking after the State Department's number three official, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, expressed frustration at India's demands in talks on the landmark agreement.

"We are disappointed with the pace and seriousness of the civil nuclear negotiations with India," Burns said in an interview published in the Financial times.

"It is time to accelerate our efforts to achieve a final deal," he said.

The agreement, initially reached in July 2006, gives India unprecedented access to US nuclear fuel and technology for its civilian power sector without requiring New Delhi to sign a nuclear weapons non-proliferation treaty as normally required by US law.

The deal has been defended by President George W. Bush's administration as the centerpiece of a new relationship between the US and India following decades of Cold War tensions.

But the negotiations have bogged down, notably over India's refusal to commit formally to its voluntary unilateral moratorium on nuclear weapons testing and its insistence the deal give it the right to reprocess nuclear fuel.

Both elements would contravene US laws.

"We have conveyed to the Indian government that there are certain issues that they might like to raise concerning issues that are covered by our national laws, and those are issues we're not going to go back and re-legislate," McCormack said.

But he expressed confidence that the differences would be overcome.

"When you're blazing a trail on an issue with negotiations and there's not a body of work or a history or precedent to fall back on, every issue becomes important for one side or the other," he said.

"Once the negotiations run their course, I think we're going to see an agreement," he said.

Washington had initially expected to implement the agreement within six months of its approval by Congress and signature into law by Bush in December.

But in addition to hiccups in negotiations with the US, New Delhi still has to negotiate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over a set of atomic safeguards which it should adhere to under the pact.

The 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) also has to formally sanction the deal.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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NUKEWARS

Iran Has Started Enrichment At Natanz Site Says IAEA

Vienna (AFP) Apr 18, 2007
Iran has started feeding uranium gas for enrichment at a nuclear plant where it has installed over 1,300 centrifuges, the UN atomic watchdog said Wednesday, showing increasing defiance of UN resolutions.

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