Energy News  
Nuclear suppliers fail to reach consensus on US-India deal

Under NSG rules, all nuclear trade with India is banned because it refuses to sign the NPT, developed atomic bombs in secret and conducted its first nuclear test in 1974. The United States argues that the new deal will bring India into the NPT fold after 34 years of isolation and help combat global warming by allowing the world's largest democracy to develop low-polluting nuclear energy.
by Staff Writers
Vienna (AFP) Aug 22, 2008
Nuclear supplier nations ended a two-day meeting here Friday without reaching agreement on lifting a 34-year-old embargo on nuclear trade with India.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which controls the export and sale of nuclear technology worldwide, convened for two days "to discuss a US draft proposal on a statement on civil nuclear cooperation with India."

Following a full session and a series of bilateral talks, the highly secretive 45-member group issued a short statement saying only: "Participating governments exchanged views in a constructive manner, and agreed to meet again in the near future to continue their deliberations."

Diplomats who attended the discussions signalled that the US-India deal had run into stiff resistance among member states, with some setting conditions for giving approval.

The United States wants a special waiver of NSG rules for India, which refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), allowing Washington and New Delhi to cooperate in the civilian nuclear field.

A number of countries openly expressed reservations about the 2005 agreement between the United States and India.

Speaking to reporters after the talks on Friday, US Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, John Rood, remained optimistic.

"We have completed a second day of discussions. We had a constructive and positive discussion today," Rood said.

The United States was "pleased with the results of the discussion and I remain very optimistic that we're going to continue to make progress towards this important goal," Rood continued.

"The Nuclear Suppliers Group has agreed to meet again in the near future and so we'll take up this question and this will remain something that the group continues to work through in a serious manner."

On Thursday, Rood had insisted there was "a lot of support" for the deal.

Under NSG rules, all nuclear trade with India is banned because it refuses to sign the NPT, developed atomic bombs in secret and conducted its first nuclear test in 1974.

The United States argues that the new deal will bring India into the NPT fold after 34 years of isolation and help combat global warming by allowing the world's largest democracy to develop low-polluting nuclear energy.

Critics argue that the deal undermines international non-proliferation efforts by providing US nuclear technology to a non-NPT state.

They accuse the nuclear states supporting the deal of ignoring the proliferation dangers in pursuit of commercial and political gains.

The deal must clear three major hurdles before it can come into effect.

The first came earlier this month when the International Atomic Energy Agency approved an India-specific safeguards agreement.

The NSG represents the next obstacle before the deal must finally be approved by the US Congress. Unanimous approval is required from the group.

Diplomats said that a number of countries had tabled conditions before the

nuclear suppliers would give the green light.

Reacting to the failure to reach consensus, Daryl Kimball, non-proliferation expert and executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said: "A number of NSG states have the common sense and courage to propose some common-sense restrictions and conditions on nuclear trade with India to reduce the risk that such trade will assist India's nuclear bomb programme."

The waiver as it currently stood "would be a serious mistake that would blow a hole in the nuclear nonproliferation system," he told AFP.

Washington and New Delhi "will now try to wordsmith the NSG guideline on India to the point of being meaningless and force a decision at the next NSG meeting," Kimball said.

Nevertheless, a decision "that will have an impact for decades to come" should not be rushed, the expert said.

"It is vital that the NSG states agree to guidelines relating to India that are unambiguous and clear. At a minimum, the NSG make clear that nuclear trade with India shall be terminated if it resumes testing for any reason. If India cannot agree to such terms, it suggests that India is not serious about its nuclear test moratorium pledge."

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Civil Nuclear Energy Science, Technology and News
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


No green light for US-India nuke deal just yet: diplomat
Vienna (AFP) Aug 21, 2008
A controversial US-India nuclear cooperation deal ran into resistance at a key meeting here Thursday with one diplomat saying nuclear-exporting countries were unlikely to approve the deal this week.







  • Analysis: Iraq Energy Roundup
  • Academy Awarded Funding For Wave Energy Research
  • Titan Oil And Gas Has Commenced Operations In Pennsylvania
  • Genomics Of Plant-Based Biofuels Highlighted In Journal Nature

  • Nuke plant increases NYC earthquake risk
  • Nuclear suppliers fail to reach consensus on US-India deal
  • Spanish nuclear plant closed after fire in electrical generator
  • American Centrifuge Project Creating Thousands Of US Jobs

  • Dutch town tests 'air-purifying' concrete
  • Scientists Search For Answers From The Carbon In The Clouds
  • Air Monitoring Helps Anticipate Possible Ecosystem Changes
  • Air Travelers And Astronomers Could Benefit From Atmospheric Turbulence Research

  • Key Georgian forests ravaged by fires: WWF
  • Forests Could Benefit When Fall Color Comes Late
  • Corruption killing Bangladesh forests: watchdog
  • Extinction Most Likely For Rare Trees In The Amazon Rainforest

  • Signals From The Atlantic Salmon Highway
  • Foot And Mouth Disease Outbreak Model Takes Shape
  • China's top lawmakers to review food safety law: state media
  • Metropolitan Wastewater Ends Up In Urban Agriculture

  • China sees brisk growth in auto imports, exports slow: state media
  • Energy Storage For Hybrid Vehicles
  • Towards Lower Fuel Use - Technologies For Lighter Cars
  • BMW Hydrogen 7 Hits The Road With The 2008 Hydrogen Road Tour

  • The M2-F1 - An Aircraft Without Wings
  • China's Tianjin building runway for Airbus test flights: report
  • NASA evaluates new wing sensor
  • Russia And China May Co-Design New Passenger Plane



  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement