Mukherjee also said that foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon briefed him in detail about the two NSG meetings.
NEW DELHI: A day after the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meeting broke up without lifting the current embargo on India’s nuclear commerce, foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee said no prescriptive conditions are acceptable to the government. “We have to see what kind of amendments come. Only then we can decide,” he said.
Mukherjee also said that foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon briefed him in detail about the two NSG meetings. The US and India now have to work on a fresh exemption draft which will satisfy the non proliferation lobby, as well as New Delhi.
After the fractious debate on the nuclear issue in parliament, the government is in no position to accept an NSG waiver with conditions.
In a statement on Saturday, the CPM said: “Whatever wording the US makes in a revised draft, as in the case of the 123-agreement and the IAEA safeguards agreement, the NSG waiver too will be in conformity with the unacceptable conditionalities of the Hyde Act. The whole attempt is to see that a text of the waiver is so drafted that will allow the government to claim it has virtually got a clean waiver.’’
His comments came as the Foreign Secretary, changing his itinerary, headed for Washington to hold discussions with the US over amendments proposed by some NSG members on Friday.
During the NSG meeting, some members raised non-proliferation issues and questioned why India should be given the exemption as it is not a signatory to the NPT.
Several of them wanted the draft waiver, moved by the US, to be amended to ensure a language that will satisfy the non-proliferation lobbies.
After the two days of NSG deliberations, Menon had on Friday described the meet as "constructive and useful" and said India looks forward to working with the grouping.
"We met a lot of individual delegates of NSG member countries and had an opportunity to brief them on Thursday," he said.
He said the exemption to NSG guidelines for nuclear trade would help civil nuclear cooperation and "is a necessary step for cooperation between India and the NSG.
Sources said differences between India and NSG countries have been narrowed down in a short span of time and New Delhi expected them to shrink further before the next meeting of the grouping.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}