March 5, 2008 India, US Bound by
123, Not Hyde Act: Boucher
New Delhi
The US Wednesday reminded India of a "very tight deadline" for
putting together "missing pieces" to conclude the nuclear deal and
clarified that the 123 agreement, and not the Hyde Act, will
determine civil nuclear commerce between the two countries.
"As far as the Hyde Act is concerned, it is a domestic legislation
that determines what we do in our government. It's an enabling
legislation whose main purpose is to allow us to conclude the
nuclear agreement with India," US Assistant Secretary of State for
Central and South Asia Richard Boucher told reporters.
"As for the 123 agreement, that's what binds India and the US in the
framework. I frankly see no contradiction between the two," Boucher
said in a bid to allay anxieties in India about the impact of the
Hyde Act on the nuclear deal.
Boucher, who met Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and senior
officials of the external affairs ministry Monday, struck an
optimistic note about concluding the deal but reminded India that
there was "a very tight deadline" for doing so due to the pressures
on the US Congress in an election year in that country.
"I am optimistic that it's a good deal for India, the US and
non-proliferation," Boucher replied when asked about his impression
of whether India was ready to push the deal through political
opposition.
"Realistically, the authoritarian voice in this regard is that of
Senator Joesph Biden (chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee). The idea is to get the deal through the US Congress by
July," he said. He was alluding to remarks made by Biden and former
Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry during a recent visit to
India when they stressed that India must conclude the next steps -
IAEA pact and a change in guidelines by the NSG - by May so that it
can be ratified by the US Congress before July-end.
"Time is short. There are time pressures. There are several pieces
of deal puzzle," Boucher said while referring to India's ongoing
efforts to conclude a safeguards agreement with the International
Atomic Energy Agency that is in its final stages.
He, however, evaded a question on whether India shared its draft
pact with the IAEA, which is said to be nearly complete, with
Washington and whether he expected External Affairs Minister Pranab
Mukherjee to bring the draft pact during his visit to the US March
13-15.
"We need to allow a month or two in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
which operates by consensus. The NSG countries are completely
committed to the non-proliferation cause," he said when asked how
much time it will take for the NSG to decide on allowing global
resumption of civil nuclear commerce with India.
"There are going to be a lot of questions in the NSG. But we believe
India should be brought in the non-proliferation mainstream," he
said. "It's a good deal for non-proliferation," he said with an eye
on sceptics in the NSG like the Scandinavian countries that are
hawkish on nuclear issues.
Saying that he understands political realities in India, Boucher
stressed: "Time is very tight. We have to put all the pieces of the
puzzle together and get it done,"
"I don't want to miss the opportunity. We should not miss the
opportunity," he said, while adding that the burgeoning India-US
ties will not be affected by the failure of the deal.
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