|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
U.S. Lawmaker Says Transparency Needed for India-U.S. Nuclear Technology Sharing Agreement
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said yesterday that any U.S. agreement to share nuclear technology with India must be transparent if it is to receive congressional approval, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Nov. 30). “While the Bush administration has, I think, been very clear in discussions with the Indian government about its expectations, let me emphasize that any Indian plan will have to pass muster with the United States Congress,” Lugar said to Indian delegates in Washington for a U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue. “That should not be viewed as a threat, but rather as a political challenge that must be met,” he said. Lugar said that any Indian plan for separation of civilian and military nuclear facilities required under the agreement cannot be “opaque or incomprehensible.” “More generally, as a politician in the United States Senate charged with guiding this agreement through the legislative branch, I would urge the Indian side to think in maximalist terms and include as many facilities as possible within the scope of the civilian declaration,” he said. “Conversely, a minimalist approach will likely only delay consideration of this initiative in the U.S. Congress and in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Or, at worst, it could result in unfavorable action by one or both bodies,” he added. Lugar cautioned that any plan must be “credible, transparent and defensible from a nonproliferation standpoint.” The plan must also contain provisions for tracking nuclear materials subject to International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards exported to and used in India, Lugar said. “The separation plan must ensure, and the safeguards must confirm, that U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation does not in any way assist India in manufacturing nuclear weapons,” he said. “This is consistent with U.S. obligations under the [Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty] and with U.S. law” (P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times, Dec. 7). Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi announced yesterday that India would be involved in a project to build an experimental nuclear-fusion reactor in France, the Associated Press reported. The United States and the European Union, which are building the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, agreed to allow India to join the project at a recent meeting in Jeju, South Korea. It is hoped that the reactor will produce a clean and safe energy alternative to fossil fuels, according to AP. Prospects for India’s participation in the project increased when President George W. Bush announced the Indo-U.S. nuclear pact. “U.S. support was instrumental in ensuring the final agreement (in Jeju),” according to a U.S. Embassy statement. The decision to allow India to join “represents the first tangible and concrete step toward greater cooperation between the US and India in the nuclear field” (Associated Press/Hindustan Times, Dec. 7). India yesterday also entered into an agreement with Russia to boost cooperation on nuclear energy and gas and oil projects, the Associated Press reported. The deal is designed to help meet the needs of India’s growing economy, according to AP. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he was ready to cooperate with India in the nuclear energy field. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that Russia is “a wider partner in furthering the objectives of full civil nuclear cooperation between India and the international community.” “We feel there is a large potential for expansion of cooperation in this area given India's growing energy requirements,” Singh said (Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press, Dec. 6).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
