December
6, 2007 US to Expand Ties
with India, Deal or No Deal
By Arun Kumar
Washington
The US says with India emerging as an increasingly important player
on the world stage, it's going to continue to expand its relations
with New Delhi regardless of the outcome of their nuclear deal.
Washington would very much like to see the India-US nuclear deal
move forward and finalized, but it does understand that the Indian
Government needs to work though its own political process. But it
was "ready and able to move forward whenever they would like us to,"
the State Department said Wednesday.
"...and we fully expect that, regardless of the outcome or the
timing of this agreement, that we are going to continue to expand
our relations with India, because it is an increasingly important
player on the world's stage," he said.
"It's a country with which we have much in common and for too long,
weren't working with in the way we are now," Casey noted. "So we
want to make sure that not only we see this nuclear agreement move
forward, but that more importantly our broader relations with India
continue to develop and grow."
"We certainly want to see this agreement move forward. We hope it
will," he said. "But ultimately, in terms of the decisions within
the Indian political system, we respect the needs and the rights of
their political leaders to work this through themselves."
"But we're ready and able to move forward whenever they would like
us to," Casey said adding he was not aware of any recent contacts
between the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and senior Indian
officials on the nuclear deal.
The US "would very much like to see this agreement move forward and
be finalized," the spokesman said as "We continue to believe it's
something that's in the best interests of the United States, of
India, and of the broader international community in efforts to
inhibit the proliferation of nuclear technology and nuclear
weapons."
"So we certainly hope that it does move forward and does go through,
Casey said noting that Washington's point man on the deal, Under
Secretary for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns, had made this
point before too.
Burns on his part said at a media roundtable in Singapore Monday
that he did not foresee the Implementing 123 agreement "being
re-opened, by either side."
"That Agreement is finished, it's done, it's completed, it just
stands to be approved finally by both governments," he said
according to the transcript of the interaction posted on the State
Department website.
"I think with goodwill and hard work, it will be. But I do not
foresee it being re-opened, by either side. Not by the United
States, and I don't think by India either," he added.
"We are confident that this deal should go forward; of course, we
now need to wait for the Indian government to make a final decision
on putting the safeguards agreement forward," Burns said outlining
the steps to follow.
"And then of course, the step after that will be the Nuclear
Suppliers Group, to convince the 45 members to act by consensus to
support international change, to treat India in a more fair and
effective manner.
"Then there will be a final vote in the US Congress, we hope at the
very beginning of 2008. And then this deal will be finished," Burns
said.
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