Stern test for India at upcoming NSG meet

Ahead of the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting later this week, an air of uncertainty prevailed on Monday over whether the 45-nation club will approve the Indo-US nuclear deal with some countries still dissatisfied with the revised draft.

Austria, which is hosting the meeting scheduled for September 4 and 5, and New Zealand, another vocal opponent of nuclear proliferation, are still unhappy with the revised draft for the India-specific waiver prepared by the US in consultation with India.

Efforts are also underway by some NSG countries to put off the meeting, arguing that they need more time to study the revised draft. China, which has so far remained ambiguous with regard to its position at the NSG meeting, also came out openly against the Indo-US nuclear deal, with the Communist Party's mouthpiece People's Daily saying it was a "major blow" to non-proliferation.

Amid the uncertainty, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher discussed the issue with Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma in New Delhi. Boucher told Sharma that the US is doing everything possible to ensure that the NSG grants a "clean" waiver to allow India to conduct civil nuclear trade with the international community.

"We are working very closely (with India) and hard on the NSG... Our attitude is positive," Boucher told reporters after meeting Sharma in.

The People's Daily of China attacked the US for having the nuclear deal with India, saying it allows New Delhi to continue with nuclear tests "as there is no constraining link between supply of nuclear materials and India conducting a nuclear test". It says "India does not assume strict non-proliferation responsibilities" under the deal with the US. "Whether it is motivated by geo-political considerations or commercial interests, the US-India nuclear agreement has constituted a major blow to the international non-proliferation regime," said the paper, which usually reflects the thinking in Beijing.

The paper also criticised the initial draft presented by the US at the NSG meet last month, terming it as "vague". Pushing for the waiver for India, the US is engaged in a major diplomatic offensive to garner support at the NSG which works by consensus and opposition by even a single member can jeopardise the initiative.

With questions being raised over US efforts before the August 21-22 NSG meeting that failed to arrive at a decision, President George W Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are expected to get into the act of garnering support by reaching out to their counterparts of the sceptic countries. Ahead of the August meeting too, Bush had written letters to various NSG member-countries seeking their support.

The US has also deputed its senior officials to various NSG member-countries to persuade them to support the waiver. American Ambassador to India David Mulford also held meetings last week with envoys of the countries having reservations to the initiative to bring them around. At the previous NSG meeting in Vienna last month, at least 15 member-countries had expressed reservations and sought around 50 amendments to the draft waiver.

The draft has since been revised but a few countries, including New Zealand and Austria, are still believed to have objections as they feel the amendments in the text are just cosmetic, leading to anxiety in Delhi.