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U.S. to Dismiss Concerns over 1956 Indian Nuclear Pact Violation, Eliminating Roadblock to New Deal
The Bush administration appears to have dismissed concerns over India’s potential violation of a 1956 agreement in which New Delhi pledged it would not use U.S. nuclear material for military purposes, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 18). The move eliminates a potential roadblock to the planned U.S.-Indian nuclear technology sharing agreement, according to Reuters. State Department documents released by a Senate panel reveal that the department could not determine whether India violated the agreement through the operation of its 40-megawatt Cirus reactor. The reactor, supplied by Canada, produces much of India’s weapon-grade plutonium. India used plutonium from the facility in its first nuclear test in 1974, causing Canada to halt the two countries’ atomic cooperation. The 1956 agreement dictated that heavy water supplied by the United States for Cirus be used only for civilian purposes. “A conclusive answer (on whether a violation occurred) has not been possible,” said Undersecretary of State for Nonproliferation Robert Joseph. Joseph contended that it was impossible to conclusively determine whether the heavy water supplied to India was used to produce the plutonium used in the test. Disagreements over the scope of the agreement also confuse the matter. However, Gary Milhollin of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control claimed Joseph is “flatly wrong.” Henry Sokolski of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center said Joseph’s statements are “unbelievable and shameful.” “We know in fact that plutonium produced by the Cirus reactor was produced with U.S. heavy water,” Milhollin said. Instead of concentrating on the Cirus reactor, “the administration believes the most productive approach is to focus on India's new commitments under (the July 18, 2005) joint statement,” Joseph told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Administration officials will not examine the matter further because “they don’t want to know” and do not want to hold India responsible, Milhollin said (Carol Giacomo, Reuters, Jan. 18). Meanwhile, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns is expected to meet today with Indian officials in New Delhi to discuss the 2005 deal, the Associated Press reported. Differences over how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program will be set aside to push the deal forward, according to officials from both countries. “We're confident that an agreement between the two governments can be worked out,” Burns said. “It's not easy, it's quite challenging and complex, but it is an agreement that is in the interest of both our countries.” Under the agreement, New Delhi must separate civilian and military nuclear programs and allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspections of the civilian facilities. In return, Washington would share its nuclear know-how and give India nuclear fuel, according to Reuters. Separation of the facilities is “an enormously complex task and that is at the heart of the negotiations,” Burns said (Matthew Rosenberg, Association Press, Jan. 19).
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