US opposed sale of Russian reactor to India

Assistant secretary of state-designate for South Asian affairs Karl F Inderfurth has placed on record the United States's opposition to Russia's proposed sale of a nuclear reactor to India and said Washington had to press Moscow to cancel the deal.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which had a special hearing for his confirmation, Inderfurth said India knew the US view on the issue. The United States had to deal with Russia which happened to be a member of the nuclear suppliers group.

He was replying to a question drawing his attention to a recently released Central Intelligence Agency report on the acquisition of technology relating to weapons of mass destruction which said ''Russia was an important source for nuclear programmes in Iran and, to a lesser extent, to India and Pakistan."

Committee chairman Senator Brownback, who asked the question, also referred to the Chinese supply of missiles and their technology to Pakistan which he said was a source of great concern for the US.

In reply, Inderfurth said, ''We are working with both Pakistan and China on the issue. It was a tough issue. We have made some progress with China.''

Earlier, in his prepared statement, he referred to the nuclear programmes of India and Pakistan and said, ''In South Asia, this continues to be a particularly difficult issue, which goes to the heart of the national security concerns of the countries involved.

''The US has worked hard to discourage the further development of these systems, as part of our global efforts to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,'' Inderfurth said, adding ''Resolution of our proliferation concerns will continue to be a top priority for us in the region.''

He, however, said the real progress would come only when both India and Pakistan were confident of the intentions of their neighbours.

''We also believe that global non-proliferation arrangements such as a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and a convention to ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons would offer Pakistan and India meaningful steps to enhance their security interests,'' he added.

If confirmed, which is a certainty, Inderfurth will replace Robin Raphel as assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs. He is expected to take over by the end of this month.

At the outset, he welcomed the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan which was marked by a May summit between Prime Ministers I K Gujral of India and Nawaz Sharief of Pakistan.

He, however, said, ''While the United States encourages and supports the dialogue between India and Pakistan -- in both official channels and informal ones such as the so-called two-track diplomacy -- we must not underestimate the depth of the challenge before them.

''Their work is of particular import as a result of the nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes that both countries have chosen to pursue,'' he added.

Inderfurth said, ''Further complicating the situation in South Asia is a history of strained relations among the states of the region, including first and foremost India and Pakistan and the long festering problem of Kashmir.

''Resolution of regional tensions in South Asia itself will only come from decisions and actions of regional parties themselves,'' he said, adding, ''We are encouraged, however, by recent positive developments on this front.''

In this context, he referred to the water-sharing arrangement among India, Bangladesh and Nepal and a trade accord between India and Sri Lanka.

Inderfurth said, ''These agreements are as significant for the cooperation they represented as for the issues they address."

He said South Asia was an increasingly important part of the world though it faced serious problems. However, there was a good cause to be optimistic about the future, he added.

Inderfurth said the countries had embarked upon serious efforts to expand their relationships with each other. They had a proposal to make South Asia a free trade zone by 2001.

''We are well positioned to strengthen our existing ties in the region, and thereby increase our influence. It is very much in our political, economic, and strategic interests to develop further our relationship with each of the countries in South Asia, but in order to do that, we will have to pay close attention to developments, have candid discussions and high level contact with our partners there, and remain -- in a word -- engaged,'' he added.

UNI