Asking the Indian government to take a "courageous" decision on the civil nuclear deal considering the "short timelines", the Bush administration has cautioned it against attempting such an arrangement with other nations ignoring the United States..
Maintaining that he is not aware as to when exactly the US-India civilian nuclear agreement is going to be formally inked, the State Department's deputy spokesman Robert Wood said the important thing is that the deal has been finalised and what remains now are just administrative matters.
As India scalps its third nuclear deal this month, the vindication and the victory cannot hide the fact that the all-powerful Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which met in Christchurch, New Zealand last week, failed to dissuade China from supplying two nuclear power reactors to Pakistan in pursuance of two that had earlier been supplied.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met Akie Abe, the wife of Japan's late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and recalled the late premier's invaluable contribution to the advancement of India-Japan relations.
Ahmed filed an application seeking details about the controversial and much talked about Indo-US nuclear deal as there were apprehensions regarding the sovereignty of the country.
As the Left parties watch every move of the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet US President George W Bush and other influential members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and seek their support for the civil nuclear cooperation with the US in these fora.
Referring to Iran's nuclear programme, Israel said it would lead to destabilisation in the Middle East and set off a nuclear arms race in the region.
Asked whether Australia would export uranium to India, the Australian foreign minister said: "Let's have a look at the agreement India and the United States finally come up with before we get into that."
Indian policymakers must realise that in buying small quantities of equipment, it becomes hard to start manufacturing them in India, explains Ajai Shukla.
US State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey ruled out a deal with Pakistan.
The external affairs minister insisted that the Hyde Act having extraneous and prescriptive provisions were "not binding on India."
The NSA noted that India has offered to put in a dedicated national facility all the fuel that the US will supply as also the fuel New Delhi will get from other countries.
India will have to request the NSG to relax its restrictions on the transfer of nuclear technology and fuel.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday briefed his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the Indo-US nuclear deal and raised the issues of delay in the delivery of Gorshkov aircraft carrier.
Finland is holding discussions with other European Union countries to evolve a common position on the issue of NSG guidelines.
'It is of utmost importance to Pakistan to have access to nuclear energy. Pakistan is prepared to establish nuclear parks in the country where the foreign companies could operate independently.'
Manmohan Singh had told his team to "call off" the Indo-US civil nuclear deal a night before its scheduled announcement by President George Bush after Americans came with a killer proposal to let India have just two of its nuclear reactors out of the international safeguards, a top aide of the former Prime Minister has said.
Acceptance of the draft waiver in its current form could fuel a nuclear arms race in the Asian subcontinent, Edward J Markey, a critic of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal said, as the 45-member grouping yesterday held discussions over the matter as part of a two-day meet in Vienna.
The PM chaired the AEC meeting on Saturday.
N-deal: Hurdles before Congressional approval
Boycotting the Champions Trophy will not tackle the issue we have with Pakistan, points out Aakar Patel.
Former Indian Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran will headline a major conference this week on the expectations and consequences of the US-India Nuclear Agreement, hosted by The Brookings Institution,
He, however, said that India and Pakistan are proceeding with the composite dialogue process, which has led to reduction of tensions and resulted in several Confidence Building Measures.
Almost five years later, the three services have still not fully understood that joint/theatre commands are not a discussion point; they are the prime minister's diktat on a military reform measure that is in line with what armed forces around the world have implemented, points out Ajai Shukla.
The Obama Administration has reiterated its strong commitment to the US-India civilian nuclear deal consummated during the tenure of the previous George W Bush Administration and said it's "embedded" in a broader strategic dialogue between Washington and New Delhi, but contended it's certainly not a template for negotiations with the likes of Iran.
The beauty of the relationship between the two countries is that they agree to disagree and perhaps that is the strongest bond between the two governments and their relationships, notes Rup Narayan Das.
The letter seeks to allay the Left's fear that signing the Indo-US nuclear deal would bind India not to conduct tests and put caps on the nuclear arsenal.
India is particularly interested in modifying provisions pertaining to conditional access to fuel reprocessing and caveats about future nuclear tests
In general, advocates of a far-stronger relationship between India and the US have favoured the nuclear cooperation deal, the paper said.
The Text of the 123 Agreement was approved in a joint meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Security.
Even as the United States Senate has scheduled a quick hearing on the India-US nuclear deal, all eyes are on the House of Representatives whose Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, a vocal critic of the pact, is yet to take a call on having a similar process."Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been lobbying furiously for the India deal, which appears to hinge on whether the White House can persuade Republican Howard Berman," said a local paper.
During the meeting, held at the residence of Pranab Mukherjee, the government's pointsman for the deal, Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh was understood to have been briefed about the deal and the steps India would have to take in the coming weeks to push it through.
Amid speculations that the United States might offer Pakistan a civil nuclear deal similar to India during the upcoming strategic dialogue on March 24, the US embassy in Islamabad has rejected such reports, saying there are no negotiations on between the two countries on the issue.
India and the US may ink the landmark nuclear deal as early as Friday after President George W Bush signs into law the legislation on the initiative. The signing of the HR7081, the approval legislation for the US-India civilian nuclear agreement, into law by Bush on Wednesday will be followed by formal inking of the accord by the two countries, which will be done by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee.
People say it is not transparent. Four times, Parliament has discussed it clause by clause. It is the most-transparent, most-written-about and most-analyzed agreement in the history of India. America is signing this deal for the same reason. It is doing it in its self-interest.
The United Progressive Alliance-Left stand-off on Indo-US nuclear deal notwithstanding, the Indian Atomic Energy department is holding consultations with International Atomic Energy Agency for working out a safeguards agreement.
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