The Bush administration has said that the sanctions imposed on two private Indian firms for allegedly providing Iran with nuclear material did not reflect New Delhi's non-proliferation record and hailed India as a "very responsible actor" in the field.
The administration also said it had not deliberately withheld information from Congress on sanctions against the Indian firms.
When asked whether the sanctions against the firms reflect that India's record on non-proliferation is not technically good, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "There are 33 companies that are currently sanctioned under the Iran Nonproliferation Act. But we believe the Indian government itself is a responsible actor, very responsible actor on the front of non-proliferation."
"We believe that the Indian government is -- has a very strong record overall on the non-proliferation front and that the deal negotiated between the US and India on nuclear issues is a good one for the US, is a good one for the international community on the non-proliferation front."
He said he was not aware of any attempt to deliberately withhold information on sactions against the two Indian firms from Congress.
"There is a tightly controlled process that considers these issues when the identified firms -- private firms, I believe, in this case -- are engaged in activities that are contrary to American law," he said.
He was asked to comment on the perception in Capitol Hill that the administration deliberately held back information on India at the time of the House of Representatives voting on the civilian nuclear deal on July 26, 2006.
"Certainly I think people would understand that for a variety of different reasons when you're in that process of consideration, not only for the reputation of the country -- of the company but also to make sure that you don't tip your hand, that that's done in a pretty fairly closed way," McCormack said.
"There is a process whereby these decisions are made public in the Federal Register. And there is -- on issues related to non-proliferation -- a constant dialogue with the Hill," he said.
"You are going to find private entities from around the world and you are going to find state-controlled entities -- where the economy is dominated by the state who do break American law. And when they do break American law, we will hold them to account. We do so through the sanctioning process," he said.
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