|
|
June 11, 2008
India-US Nuclear Deal 'Nearly Dead',
Obama 'Highly Ambivalent'
London
The proposed India-US nuclear deal is almost certainly dead because
of delays by New Delhi, as Democratic presidential hopeful Barack
Obama remains "highly ambivalent" about it, a British newspaper
Wednesday reported.
Asked whether it was now impossible to push the deal through in the
dying days of President George Bush's term, a senior Bush
administration official told the Financial Times: "That is probably
correct."
The paper quoted an adviser to Obama as saying the Democratic Party
presidential candidate was "highly ambivalent" about the deal. Obama
submitted a wrecking amendment to the original bill in 2006.
The paper said the Bush administration has "watched with growing
frustration" as New Delhi repeatedly missed deadlines to complete
the deal.
It said US officials had hoped until recently Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh would persuade his colleagues, including Congress
president Sonia Gandhi, to face down his government's Left allies
over the deal.
But it said New Delhi has "sat on the deal" for the past 10 months
without inviting inspectors of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) to begin their safeguard inspections in India.
Approval of the IAEA and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
is needed before the US Congress can give its go-ahead.
"Even if the Indian government were suddenly to turn around and get
the IAEA stage completed, there would be no time for the remaining
two stages," said Ashley Tellis, one of the original architects of
the deal and now an adviser to Republican Party presidential
candidate John McCain.
The paper quoted senior Indian officials as saying privately that
their best chances of reviving the deal would come if McCain, who
supports the deal, were to become US president.
The collapse of the deal would jeopardise India's access to
sensitive US technology which could have an impact on defence sales
and civil nuclear development.
"If you look at the regime between 1974 [when India conducted its
first nuclear test] and 1998 [its second] that would give you some
idea of what India would be heading back towards," Tellis said,
adding: "This would be an historic blunder."
IANS
|
June 11, 2008
Top
|
|
