India says nuclear spent fuel reprocessing 'non-negotiable'

MUMBAI: India has made it clear that the issue of reprocessing of spent fuel is 'non-negotiable' and New Delhi was committed to retaining the right in the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

"We want reprocessing rights upfront. Reprocessing is a non-negotiable right," Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Anil Kakodkar said ahead of the restart of negotiations on the 123 Agreement that will pave the way for the actual implementation of the landmark deal.

Retaining full privileges as laid out in joint statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W Bush on July 18, 2005 and the separation plan of March 2006, "India wants all these to be explicitly addressed," said Kakodkar, one of the architects of the agreement.

"We expect the negotiators to respect the joint statement of July 18 and March 2006 separation plan and proceed further by taking into account India's concerns which arose after the Hyde Act, that gave US legislative nod to the deal," Kakodkar said.

Asked when the crucial negotiations on the deal enabling agreement are going to recommence, the top scientist said,  "Both India and US are studying the drafts carefully and serious negotiations would begin fairly soon."

About the Hyde Act's stand on ban on conducting atomic tests, he noted, "India had declared a unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests, but that cannot become a bilateral legality.