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N-deal may come with strings attached

Some members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) with strong non-proliferation domestic lobbies are likely to ask India for certain concessions.

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Western diplomats are unsure of what may be demanded of India to clinch it

NEW DELHI: Some members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) with strong non-proliferation domestic lobbies are likely to ask India for certain concessions before granting it a clean exemption to become a part of the international nuclear commerce, Western diplomats in the capital said.

India may not find it difficult to get the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to okay the safety agreement it has finalized, but the going may be tougher at the 45- member NSG meeting.

There are a group of 10 to 12 member states, who are not happy about rewarding a country, which has consistently remained outside the international non-proliferation regime and carried out a clandestine weapons programme. Most of these countries, especially the Scandinavians, are trying to appease their domestic constituencies need to show that India is also conceding to their demands. As such, most non-proliferation activists believe New Delhi has got far too much from the Bush administration.
No one knows what will be asked. It could be the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, or some technical points. But India will need to show it is also willing to concede on certain points, Western diplomats said.

Will India be in a position to take these considerations on board, with so much domestic opposition to the deal? The Left and the BJP have already thrashed the deal and the government may not be in a position to give in to even innocuous NSG suggestions.
India had refused to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty on grounds that it was a discriminatory agreement. Countries like Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada and Australia have committed anti-nuclear constituencies. So, it is not easy for their governments to hastily go along with a clean waiver for India.

Countries like the Netherlands, which is one of the founder members of the NSG, need time to consider the issue. “Time is against the deal. India wants to put the IAEA deal and the NSG waiver before the US Congress in the first week of September for a up-and-down vote on the 123 Agreement. This may be difficult for some European countries,” a Western diplomat said.

Besides, August is holiday month for many European governments, and certain countries like the Netherlands, need to go back to their governments with the draft of the waiver, before agreeing to it and may find it inconvenient to rush through it at this time.

On Friday afternoon, foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon will brief members of the IAEA board of governors on the safety agreement in Vienna. Members of the IAEA board, who are also part of the NSG, may raise queries on the draft, especially as the India specific safety protocol is the first of a kind.

Initially, India called the meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna but later decided to hold it outside the secretariat. Delhi has already circulated the draft agreement to members of the IAEA board of governors, giving each nation enough time to study the clauses.

“It will be our effort to convince each member state of our commitment to non-proliferation,” explained a senior official.

The government does not want to take chances and will wait till after the trust vote next Tuesday in Parliament.
 g_seema@dnaindia.net

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