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INDIA AND THE US: TALKS ON, BUT WITH AGGRAVATING DIFFERENCES
India has accused the US of creating obstacles for conclusion of the nuclear deal between the two countries.
The article in the newspaper "THE TIMES OF INDIA" – "US officials put a spoke in the wheel, trying to derail the deal" reported that the first meeting of Indo-US contact group on the peaceful atom is scheduled for December. Meanwhile, "the Democrats, who are now in power at present, are advocating for the revision of agreements signed with India by the Republicans".
During his tenure, President George W. Bush's administration signed an agreement between India and the United States to develop cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. India is not a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; suppliers of nuclear technologies therefore have a number of limitations to work with this country. Under pressure from the US, an exception was made in the framework of the Nuclear Suppliers Group with regards to India. It opened up the possibility for large-scale cooperation with India in the field of peaceful atom. Now, the Democratic US administration seems to want to change the terms of such cooperation, notes Anton Khlopkov, Director at the Center for Energy and Security and member of the expert group on international security under the Security Council of the Russian Federation:
"That, what is being attempted by the US administration, in the first place, is an attempt to tighten the requirements for India in the field of nuclear non-proliferation. Will it have any effect and does the United States stand to achieve its goals? It is unlikely, because in India, there is criticism in respect of commitments that have already been made. Not to mention of the acceptance of the new ones. I can hardly agree with the opinion that there is a huge perspective in terms of increased commitment of India in the field of non-proliferation. It is obvious that in the US, the industrial lobby is in favor of developing contacts with India in the nuclear field. India is a huge market and certainly not only a piece of cake for the Russian and the French nuclear industry, but also for the US".
India's nuclear weapons program was created by the use of an undeclared research reactor, which was supplied from Canada. India violated obligations under a bilateral agreement with Canada. It also used heavy water of American origin, despite the fact that it had obligations to the United States not to do so for military purposes. This happened in the 60's - beginning of the 70's, but experts, professionals from the USA remember about it. And, this is the reason why, apparently, Washington is trying to tighten the requirements for India under the nuclear deal, considers Anton Khlopkov:
"It should be noted that the Indian side has adopted a very controversial law on liability for damages in the nuclear field. It complicates the entry of foreign nuclear suppliers into the Indian market. Thus, there exist complications in issues associated with the use of peaceful nuclear energy and cooperation with India in this area, which will have to be resolved by both the sides".
Of course, the situation regarding India's status of its relations with the Nuclear Suppliers Group has an impact on Russian interests in India. The Russian nuclear industry considers the Indian market as one of the largest in the foreseeable future. There, Russia has fine prospects for increasing the number of nuclear power plants, which are constructed and subsequently operated under the Russian-designed projects. Therefore, Russian experts and nuclear scientists are closely following the interaction of Indian colleagues with other countries.
Read more: INDIA AND THE US: TALKS ON, BUT WITH AGGRAVATING DIFFERENCES - News - Politics - Russian Radio
India has accused the US of creating obstacles for conclusion of the nuclear deal between the two countries.
The article in the newspaper "THE TIMES OF INDIA" – "US officials put a spoke in the wheel, trying to derail the deal" reported that the first meeting of Indo-US contact group on the peaceful atom is scheduled for December. Meanwhile, "the Democrats, who are now in power at present, are advocating for the revision of agreements signed with India by the Republicans".
During his tenure, President George W. Bush's administration signed an agreement between India and the United States to develop cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. India is not a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; suppliers of nuclear technologies therefore have a number of limitations to work with this country. Under pressure from the US, an exception was made in the framework of the Nuclear Suppliers Group with regards to India. It opened up the possibility for large-scale cooperation with India in the field of peaceful atom. Now, the Democratic US administration seems to want to change the terms of such cooperation, notes Anton Khlopkov, Director at the Center for Energy and Security and member of the expert group on international security under the Security Council of the Russian Federation:
"That, what is being attempted by the US administration, in the first place, is an attempt to tighten the requirements for India in the field of nuclear non-proliferation. Will it have any effect and does the United States stand to achieve its goals? It is unlikely, because in India, there is criticism in respect of commitments that have already been made. Not to mention of the acceptance of the new ones. I can hardly agree with the opinion that there is a huge perspective in terms of increased commitment of India in the field of non-proliferation. It is obvious that in the US, the industrial lobby is in favor of developing contacts with India in the nuclear field. India is a huge market and certainly not only a piece of cake for the Russian and the French nuclear industry, but also for the US".
India's nuclear weapons program was created by the use of an undeclared research reactor, which was supplied from Canada. India violated obligations under a bilateral agreement with Canada. It also used heavy water of American origin, despite the fact that it had obligations to the United States not to do so for military purposes. This happened in the 60's - beginning of the 70's, but experts, professionals from the USA remember about it. And, this is the reason why, apparently, Washington is trying to tighten the requirements for India under the nuclear deal, considers Anton Khlopkov:
"It should be noted that the Indian side has adopted a very controversial law on liability for damages in the nuclear field. It complicates the entry of foreign nuclear suppliers into the Indian market. Thus, there exist complications in issues associated with the use of peaceful nuclear energy and cooperation with India in this area, which will have to be resolved by both the sides".
Of course, the situation regarding India's status of its relations with the Nuclear Suppliers Group has an impact on Russian interests in India. The Russian nuclear industry considers the Indian market as one of the largest in the foreseeable future. There, Russia has fine prospects for increasing the number of nuclear power plants, which are constructed and subsequently operated under the Russian-designed projects. Therefore, Russian experts and nuclear scientists are closely following the interaction of Indian colleagues with other countries.
Read more: INDIA AND THE US: TALKS ON, BUT WITH AGGRAVATING DIFFERENCES - News - Politics - Russian Radio
This is important if countries around the world are to consider investing in India or its strategic interests. This includes a major breakthrough last week with the U.S. on a dispute over food subsidies that had previously risked derailing a new deal at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
aka no meaning of NATO at all
