Talks resume on US-India nuclear technology deal

The Associated Press , Vienna | Thu, 09/04/2008 7:00 PM | World

International talks resumed Thursday on a contentious U.S. plan to sell peaceful nuclear technology to India - a deal that critics contend would reverse decades of progress in discouraging nations from potentially developing weapons of mass destruction.

William Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters he saw "steady progress" and said Washington held out hope that the embattled negotiations would produce a deal by Friday.

"The United States believes firmly that the step we're considering for India will strengthen nonproliferation," said Burns, the No. 3 official at the State Department.

He is the top envoy to deliberations being overseen by the Nuclear Suppliers Group - the global body that governs the legal trade in nuclear materials.

But opponents, which include several small countries such as Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland have serious misgivings about engaging in nuclear trade with New Delhi.

India has tested nuclear weapons, but has refused to sign international nonproliferation accords.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, denounced the proposal as "unsound and irresponsible" and urged the 45-nation nuclear group to reject it.

An initial round of talks on the plan last month ended in deadlock after more than a dozen opposing countries argued against reversing more than three decades of U.S. policy outlawing the sale of nuclear material to India for civilian use.

"To their credit, many NSG states essentially said 'no thanks' and proposed more than 50 amendments and modifications to the U.S. proposal," Kimball said, adding: "It is extraordinarily important for these states to stand their ground."

China also urged caution earlier this week, saying the peaceful use of nuclear energy must be balanced against concerns about possible weapons development.

But Burns said the U.S. "is determined to do all that we can" to close the potentially lucrative deal, which Washington insists will open up India's nuclear program to new scrutiny and improve ties between the two countries.

This week's closed-door talks were seen as crucial, because the U.S. Congress also will have to approve any trade waiver, and in just a few weeks lawmakers will break for the rest of the year to devote time to their re-election campaigns.

U.S. Rep. Howard Berman released a secret Bush administration letter this week that says the U.S. has the right to immediately halt nuclear trade with India if it were to conduct an atomic test blast. India had insisted that nothing in the plan would ban it from future tests.(and)

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