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No obstacle to Indo-US nuke pact: Burns

     New Delhi: Visiting US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns, said on Friday that he did not see any obstacle coming in the way of the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear pact signed between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S.President George W Bush in July this year. Addressing a joint press conference at Hyderabad House here with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran after over six hours of talks over how to take the landmark pact forward to its logical conclusion, Burns said that both New Delhi and Washington were fully committed to the responsibilities and practices enjoined in the July 18 agreement. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during his visit to Washington in July this year conveyed to the Bush Administration that New Delhi "would reciprocally agree that it would be ready to assume the same responsibilities and practices and acquire the same benefits and advantages as other leading countries with advanced nuclear technology, such as the United States."

     The July 18 joint statement says that India will identify and separate civilian and military nuclear facilities and programmes in a phased manner and would file a declaration regarding its civilian facilities with the International Atomic Energy Agency; taking a decision to place these facilities under IAEA safeguards. It also agreed to sign and adhere to an additional protocol with respect to civilian nuclear protocol with respect to civilian nuclear facilities and to a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. Burns sought to affirm that there is no other strings attached to the cooperation other than those underlined in the joint statement. Asked whether the pact would in any way be affected by the Iran- Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, Burns replied in the negative, saying that no other obligation on the part of either New Delhi or Washington would affect the agreement. However, he added, that Washington was "extremely concerned" about Iran's behavior in not complying with international obligations on its nuclear capability. "Iran should come back to the negotiating table, sit down with the European countries and resolve the issue by peaceful and diplomatic means," said Burns.

     Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said both sides had a focussed discussion on the civilian nuclear cooperation and an "implementable agreement would be on the table," by the time of President Bush's scheduled visit to India in February 2006. Saran said India has carried out many of the committments contained in the bilateral understanding and and has "conformed to a global non-proliferation regime." Burns was quoted as saying before his arrival in New Delhi that the focus of his visit would be on formalising a timetable that would lead to decisions in the U.S. Congress "to change our laws and ultimate decision of the Indian government to meet their commitments." "This cooperation that we're extending to India is unique to India. It is not going to be replicated to other countries," Burns had said in Paris. He said India differed markedly from Iran or Pakistan in that it has not been a source of nuclear proliferation and had been "transparent" about its programme. Burns is also expected to convey Washington's appreciation of India voting in favour of the IAEA resolution on Iran's nuclear programme. It feels following India's decision, US Congressional opposition to the Indo-US nuclear agreement has disappeared.