New Delhi, December 7
The US Congress would vote and pass the Indo-US nuclear deal “in the next 36 hours” and it would be “well within the parameters” of the July 18, 2005, agreement.
This confidence was publicly expressed by the visiting US Under Secretary of State (Political Affairs), Mr Nicholas Burns, at a joint press conference with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon after the two had their day-long inconclusive talks here today.
In response to a question from this correspondent about the Indian strategic establishment’s fear of a nuclear apartheid or India getting B-grade treatment in the nuclear deal, Mr Burns said the deal was poised to bring about a “strategic liberation” for India.
While Mr Burns repeatedly said that he had not seen the unified Bill that would be voted in the two chambers of the US Congress, he categorically stated that Washington was committed to meeting all the commitments it had made to India. These commitments included ensuring uninterrupted fuel supply to India and maintaining India’s strategic fuel reserves, Mr Burns added.
Mr Burns said that the uniform Bill before the two chambers of Congress for voting would be “well within the parameters” of the understanding reached between President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in their July 18, 2005, agreement.
However, the American pointman on the nuclear deal, dropped hints of the possible red lines for India in the unified Bill when he said that Washington expected India to join the international mainstream on the Iran issue. “We greatly respect the fact that India and the US and all other countries around the world have to react to non-proliferation concerns. We expect India to be in the mainstream of international opinion. Brazil, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, EU, Russia and China all had sent this message. India and the US have been part of this global effort. We in the US believe that Iran has a right to civil nuclear power and we
offered them help but Iran turned down this offer. We don’t want to see a nuclear weapon-powered Iran,” Mr Burns said.
Mr Burns explained in great details how the US was on the verge of reversing its 35-year-old policy of keeping India out of the international system on matters relating to nuclear trade and commerce. “I anticipate a very successful and supportive Bill. It would be well within the parameters of the July 18, 2005, Joint Statement. It will be a tremendous achievement for both countries. There is a very strong bipartisan support in the US for the Bill... We are very optimistic.”
The Under Secretary of State hailed it as “a very decisive moment” in history which will welcome India in the international non-proliferation community after keeping this nation out for over three decades.
Mr Shivshankar Menon, in response to a question from this correspondent on the BJP accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of “demeaning conduct” in pursuing the nuclear deal with the US, said the alleged remark only showed “complete misunderstanding” of the process. “I can’t see how it is demeaning,” he remarked.
At today’s talks the two countries covered a wide gamut of bilateral, regional and global issues. The two sides exuded confidence that their strategic partnership was in for further reinvigoration. The two sides decided to step up cooperation in areas of common interests and lay a special focus on cooperation in counter-terrorism.
“The US-India relations are at a stage of transformation… This is one of the most important strategic partnerships for the US,” Mr Burns said.
Mr Burns and Mr Menon held talks in two sessions from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Special Envoy Shyam Saran joined in the discussions when the subject of the nuclear deal came up. The talks will conclude tomorrow.
An interesting item on the agenda for talks tomorrow is what India and the US can do together to ensure peace in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
