Rooting for early conclusion of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, former United States secretary of state Henry Kissinger has warned that a delay could affect prospects of such a cooperation as the critics will be "better organised" two years later.
He said on Tuesday that India must implement the deal "for its own reasons" and not "as a favour to" or "under pressure" from the US.
If the agreement is not completed during the tenure of the Bush administration, "the new administration in 2009 will negotiate a new agreement and submit it for Congress' approval and the same steps will repeat," Kissinger said at a seminar in New Delhi.
"Those opposed to the deal will be better organised two years from now," he added.
The former high-profile state department chief, who met BJP leader L K Advani, sought to emphasise that he was not here to push the deal.
"Inevitably, this issue figured in our discussions. He (Advani) explained his perception of India's necessities," he said adding, "I did not make any particular attempt to influence," the BJP leader.
Lauding the bilateral relationship, he said, "There is a perception in the US that fundamental interests of both sides are parallel. This is not defined by any single agreement but by basic national interests."
Kissinger also insisted that the strategic closeness in Indo-US relations was not to "contain" China. "I do not think that (US') friendship with China is incompatible with (its) friendship with India or also the otherwise. This is just part of the new approach that current situations have imposed upon us," he said.
He said India was among the "traditional states" which were of the type Europe had in 17th century.
"The centre of gravity in international relations has moved from Atlantic to Indian Ocean and Pacific," Kissinger said.
Highlighting the threat posed by nuclear weapons, he said they were "incompatible with any political objective".
The nuclear war could be prevented during Cold War era as "there were only two nuclear powers". "But the danger would be unmanageable if there were a dozen nuclear powers each with its own calculations and regional balances of power," he added.
Stating that there was an obligation upon every nation to find a means to control nuclear weapons, he justified US' stand on Iran from the same logic.
Supporting a "revision" of the UN Security Council, Kissinger indicated that issues like veto power could come in between the process of changing its structure and composition.
"In the foreseeable future, the US Senate would never allow the administration to abandon veto power," he said.