New Delhi, August 26
Reflecting a dramatic change in its stance amid renewed attempts by India and the US to rescue the nuclear deal, New Zealand today clarified that it has not insisted on New Delhi signing the NPT or the CTBT while proposing amendments in the draft for approval by the nuclear suppliers’ group (NSG) to allow India to engage in nuclear trade.
The statement from Wellington came as a pleasant surprise for Indian officials engaged in hectic negotiations with key US officials to see if changes could be introduced in the draft, which failed to secure the NSG nod at its meeting in Vienna on August 21-22.
US assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher today held meetings with Prime Minister’s special envoy Shyam Saran and other officials in the PMO to discuss the proposed amendments in the draft, that would be acceptable to India as well to those countries which opposed the waiver without conditions.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who returned from Assam
this afternoon, is also understood to have got a briefing on the discussions between Indian and US officials. Both the Indian and the US sides preferred to remain tight-lipped on the nature of talks on the NSG draft. However, India is said to have made it clear to the US that it could not be expected to make any compromise on its basic positions just to appease a small group of NSG countries, opposing the exemption.
The US, seeking to allay the impression that it was to blame for the NSG fiasco, has reiterated its commitment to the nuclear deal by redoubling its efforts to secure a clean waiver for India. It also proposes to take the nuclear deal to US Congress as quickly as possible.
Quiet diplomacy initiated by Washington seems to have already started paying dividends. The change in the attitude of the NSG skeptics, particularly New Zealand, the most vocal opponent of waiver, was in evidence today itself.
In a press release posted on his ministry’s website, New Zealand’s trade and disarmament minister Phil Goff said the discussions at the NSG meeting in Vienna last week were ‘robust and constructive’ and Wellington looked forward to continuing this dialogue around a ‘revised draft exemption text’ at its meeting next month (September 4-5).
“Around 50 amendments have been proposed in the original text, with many countries speaking in favour of amendments. The key function of the NSG is to formulate guidelines for managing exports of nuclear material, equipment and technology to ensure that this trade does not contribute to nuclear weapons proliferation. Discussions in Vienna focused on how to ensure compatibility of these objectives with the exemptions, sought for the US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement.’’
Goff went on to add: “While New Zealand remains a strong advocate of the NPT and the CTBT and would welcome India’s accession to these treaties, we have not included these elements in our package of proposals.’’
Worried that its stance might ruin its relationship with both India and the US, Wellington said: “New Zealand engaged constructively in the discussions, acknowledging potential benefits involved in the agreement and its good relationship with both countries, while noting concerns and the need for consistency in pursuing the objective of non-proliferation.”
Goff also pointed out that a large number of countries, big and small, expressed views similar to New Zealand’s that there needed to be compatibility between the India-US agreement and the goals of the NSG, and indicated a willingness to engage positively to achieve that outcome.
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, while on her way to Tel Aviv, said: “Our principal focus right now has been on the India civil nuclear deal, having worked through the IAEA, now working through the NSG, and still trying to get into a position to make the appropriate presidential determinations in early September.”
