Nuclear Trade Talks Resume in New Delhi

U.S.-Indian nuclear talks resumed today in New Delhi with officials from both nations expressing hope that they could work out the final details of an agreement to supply U.S. nuclear technology and materials, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 29).

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon discussed measures to free up the deal’s completion, which has been stalled by Indian concerns that the pact would overly constrain India’s future nuclear activities.

In particular, India has objected to limits on its freedom to test nuclear weapons and reuse U.S.-supplied nuclear fuel.

“None of these issues that we have highlighted will be brushed aside and they will be examined by both sides in the light of our good bilateral relations,” said one Indian Foreign Ministry official.

“There is considerable work to be done on what is a very technical and detailed agreement,” U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford said yesterday.  “We want to finish as soon as we can and both sides are positive we can do this” (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 31).

Meanwhile, two former top Indian nuclear officials criticized the agreement in newspaper commentaries today.

“Unpalatable” U.S. positions would undermine India’s ability to modernize its nuclear deterrent, said P.K. Iyengar, a former chairman of the nation’s Atomic Energy Commission.

“We haven't evaluated the detailed requirements for a minimum credible deterrent, including delivery systems. Our research and development limps on, while elsewhere a new generation of efficient nuclear weapons and their delivery systems is being actively worked on,” he said (The Hindu I, May 31).

Another former commission chairman shared Iyengar’s opposition to the deal and urged the Bush administration to seek changes to the U.S. law, known as the Hyde Act, which exempted India from most, but not all, U.S. nuclear nonproliferation measures.

“The fact is India has already made all the compromises it could make upfront and cannot make any more at this stage,” said M.R. Srinivasan.  “The U.S. administration has to find a way to accommodate fully agreements reached with India in July 2005 and March 2006. If the only way to do so is to amend the Hyde Act, then the U.S. should plan to do so rather than ask India to make any more compromises” (The Hindu II, May 31).

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