Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's mood is "upbeat" after the Left parties gave the green signal to the government to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency for safeguard talks in connection with the Indo-US nuclear deal, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan said on Friday night.
Obama seeks reduction of nuclear arsenal in India and Pakistan while Pakistan seeks NSG membership
After 20 months of hectic negotiations, Iran and six major powers have reached a historic deal to limit Teheran's nuclear programme in return for lifting of sanctions. Let's understand closely what the deal is all about.
"Nuclear material supplied to India will be fully safeguarded in terms of agreement signed with IAEA. We have foolproof system of export controls. We have complete civilian control and there is no scope for any nuclear material or equipment whatsoever being supplied going for any unintended purpose," Dr Singh told a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper after the two countries signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying said China-Pakistan cooperation is in accordance with the 48-member nuclear club, which supervises global nuclear commerce.
Perpaps to clear the air on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the safeguards agreement with IAEA will not impinge on India's strategic programme.
There is apprehension of horse-trading and the government should seek vote of confidence at the earliest, said L K Advani, the Opposition leader, on Thursday.
'The biggest lacuna in this agreement is it is called 'full civil nuclear cooperation agreement.' Actually, it is anything but full.'
Pakistan foreign office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said that Pakistan is a 'responsible nuclear state' whose atomic weapons are 'as secure as that of any other nuclear weapon state'. Statements expressing concern about the safety and security of the nuclear arsenal are 'unwarranted and irresponsible'.
The meeting of UPA-Left Committee on nuclear issue, scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed, putting back further a decision on whether India should sign the safeguards agreement with IAEA. The meeting is now expected in the first half of next month.
Buoyed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's approval of the India-specific safeguards pact, the US on Sunday vowed to push through expeditiously the Nuclear Suppliers Group process but said New Delhi would have to answer a lot of questions to secure a waiver from the 45-nation bloc when it meets later this month.
The ominous explanations of some of the NSG countries in the Board should alert to the perils ahead.
A supporter of the N-deal gives a chilling insight into the deep conviction of the group of nuclear deal supporters in market economy and their unwavering faith in the inherent strengths of India.
China is ready to "explore cooperation with all countries for the peaceful use of nuclear energy in accordance with the rules of the IAEA," said Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
"The basic purpose of the whole deal is to cap, reduce and eliminate our nuclear weapons programme," he said.
India has said that it has difficulty with parts of the IAEA draft.
The United Progressive Alliance-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal will meet in New Delhi on March 17 in the face of an ultimatum by the government's Communist allies to make its stand clear on the controversial agreement. The government is likely to present the draft of the India-specific Safeguards Agreement reached with the IAEA at the meeting, which comes at a time when there is a further strain in UPA-Left ties.
Anil Kakodkar will also discuss with IAEA representatives an Additional Protocol.
'The US motivations are far from clear, but there is a balance of rights and obligations in the Indo-US deal.'
'Decisions on nuclear power have so far been taken by a small select group, primarily interested in profiteering from their actions, stating 'secrecy' as necessary from the national security point.' 'This argument is false, because we are dealing with the 'civilian' nuclear power sector, which is open even to the IAEA,' says Dr A Gopalakrishnan, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
"Relevant cooperation is in strict accordance with the two countries' international responsibility and is for peaceful aim. We also receive the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
'If ever India loses its patience after repeated terror attacks and decides to retaliate against the terrorist camps, Pakistan may term that a conventional military attack and invoke the nuclear option. This is a way to continue with terrorism without retaliation.'
India has a 'natural global partnership' with US, says PM.
A genuine attempt was made to reset relations in a positive way, signalling a stepping back from the brink of conflict, much to the relief of the world, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
For the world and India, one of the most enduring challenges of the times is for Pakistan's nukes to be neutralised, before they are ever used by the State, their sponsored non-State actors or any rogue elements from the many terror tanzeems dotting Pakistan's unstable landscape, says Lieutenant General Kamal Davar (retd).
BWith a distracted president brooding in the White House, Pompeo seems to think his day has come. He seems to be pushing a personal agenda before a target audience in America, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'India appears to have stood its ground on strategic autonomy by resisting US pressure on Russia, China and Iran, but succumbed to the temptation to walk into a tighter embrace in defence cooperation, a high priority of the Trump administration,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Making nuclear exemptions for India, says Senator Edward Markey, 'only infuriates Pakistan and leads them to further increase their own nuclear capacities.'
It is easy to foretell that negotiating a comprehensive and final agreement on the Iran nuclear issue is by no means an easy task. It involves hard negotiations, but the hardest step has been taken, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who was among the first group of foreigners to visit the the top-secret Arak plant hidden behind barren mountains south of Tehran.
Trump's diatribe against India in his speech on the Paris Agreement is hard to explain, especially when a Modi-Trump meeting is supposedly on the cards, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought to address concerns of international community over India not signing the non-proliferation treaty by saying that the country's commitment to peace and non-violence is engrained in the "DNA of Indian society" which is above any international treaty or processes.
'In a relationship that does not permit cricket, how can the prime ministers embrace and send a false message,' asks Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The agreement was reached in intensive negotiations between contact groups that Obama and Modi had set up in September.
Despite four disarmament section talks and six strategic dialogues between the two foreign ministries, China's intransigence on recognising Indian nuclear status resulted in no confidence building measures in the nuclear field between the two, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
'By the time he came out after nearly five hours, he had a one-to-one conversation with the President, a delegation-level meeting, a reception, a dinner, a tour of the White House and a joint statement of a kind none of his predecessors ever had,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The new equation between 'Namo' and 'Barack' may well 'convert a good start into lasting progress.'
The biological weapons convention is a non-starter in spite of the efforts of many states in the world for the last five decades mainly because the US is not ready to accept the 'verification protocol' which could allow the formation of some official mechanism for inspections, says Ajay Lele.
'Modi and Obama both had agendas that went beyond the nuclear deal. The threat from the chilly Himalayas had to be tackled in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.'
'Modi's investment in the relationship with Washington is the biggest deliverable of this visit. He means business and that's fantastic!'
