NSG stuck on nuke test issue

India softens on technology transfer and periodic review of compliance

NEW DELHI/VIENNA: With the Indo-US nuclear deal at stake, diplomats from both nations were at work late into the night to come up with an exemption agreement that would satisfy both the Nuclear Suppliers Group and India.

After four rounds of discussions, Austria, which was among a couple of countries holding out, gave enough indications that “more work still” needs to be done. And external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who earlier in the day made a well-received reiteration of India’s nonproliferation credentials, said late on Friday night in New Delhi that “efforts are continuing to evolve a consensus.”

India did not expected the kind of stiff opposition it has faced. Realising that even the reworked draft presented at this second meeting of the NSG would not sell, New Delhi agreed to soften its earlier rigid stand.

A Reuters report from Vienna said : “Rows over two other conditions had been resolved, citing US assurances the final draft would rule out transfers of fuel-enrichment technology that could be replicated for bomb-making, and provide for periodic reviews of Indian compliance with the waiver.’’

But India is holding out against spelling out what happens if it tests again. It does not want the mention of atomic tests in the NSG exemption. But the hold-out nations are adamant that the NSG must act together in case of future tests and put this down in black and white. Considering the sensitivities back home, India cannot agree to have this clause in the exemption document, because it will be seen virtually as saying there will be no more tests. That would be political hara-kiri for the Manmohan Singh government. New Delhi will have to kiss the deal goodbye if the NSG does not agree.

There is some speculation that if the NSG fails to reach a consensus the meeting may be extended or convened again later in the month. India is opposed to another session and wants a decision either way now.

New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Norway and Finland, with strong domestic nonproliferation lobbies, had been insisting that the waiver should include a paragraph on the action to follow if India tests again. They want the NSG to act in unison in case India does so. Some of these nations have since softened their stand under US and Indian pressure.

Peter Launsky, an Austrian diplomat, speaking from Vienna has made it clear that it was important to get the document right: “I think the quality of the result is more important than the timing.’’  He said that for smaller nations it was important to have the security architecture right and the nonproliferation regime was part of the concern for national security. He also made the point that the countries opposed to granting an unconditional waiver were not opposed to India and its needs for power to sustain development.

It has been a see-saw battle through the day. Friday started off on a positive note with a ringing re- affirmation of India’s non-proliferation credentials by Pranab Mukherjee. The majority of the 45-member cartel which governs nuclear trade welcomed India’s statement. Most of the countries including the major nuclear powers — US, Britain, Russia and France — have been supportive from the beginning.

China, the only other nuclear weapon state, which had earlier been non-committal though giving all indications that it will not be the one to stop the waiver, seems to have shifted position since seeing the stiff resistance offered by the small group of six nations. Reports from Vienna suggest the Chinese are saying the NSG must not be rushed to take a decision right away.

Earlier Pranab Mukherjee had tried to send out a positive signal from New Delhi. ``We remain committed to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. We do not subscribe to any arms race, including a nuclear arms race. We have always tempered the exercise of our strategic autonomy with a sense of global responsibility. We affirm our policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons.’’  Moreover he said India is committed to work with other countries for a fissile material cut off treaty which is “universal, nondiscriminatory and verifiable”.

This was welcomed by the NSG when it began its meeting on Friday morning. “We are pleased that there was a positive momentum in the discussions,” John Rood, US acting Under Secretary for Arms Control, told reporters before lunch break. He said members “praised and welcomed it”.