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No question of nuclear rollback, says Mishra

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and his American counterpart, Samuel 'Sandy' Berger, today had a breakfast meeting at which they took stock of the two countries' stance on nuclear non-proliferation.

"Yes, Mishra and Berger met at breakfast this morning," confirmed Elizabeth Corvin, an official at the United States embassy. But she gave no details, saying there was nothing to disclose.

According to government sources, Mishra, who is also principal secretary to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, repeated New Delhi's stand that India's security concerns would not allow it to lower its guard and so it could neither sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty nor roll back its nuclear programme.

Mishra added that the Indian stand should not be seen as an aggressive posture in South Asia, because it has come about as a purely defensive compulsion.

A senior official of the external affairs ministry pointed out that there was no difference in India's stand on the nuclear and missile issues even though Washington had tried hard to make New Delhi soften its stance.

President Bill Clinton, before arriving here on Sunday, had asserted that India could not be accepted as a nuclear-weapons state. But Prime Minister Vajpayee was quick to retort that nobody could exert pressure on India to compromise on its security and there would be no rollback of its nuclear or missile programmes.

Indian foreign policy analysts have underscored that despite the differences of opinion between New Delhi and Washington on the CTBT and related issues, Clinton's sojourn will strengthen Indo-US ties, especially economic ties.

Analysts like Dr Chintamani Mahapatra of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and Commander (retd) C Uday Bhaskar of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses have stressed that if the two countries do not regard each other as adversaries on matters where they disagree, they can begin a new and fruitful chapter in their relations.

The visiting US press corps has also indicated that the differences between New Delhi and Washington will not hinder a long-term relationship between them.

CLINTON VISITS INDIA : The complete coverage

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