Thursday, October 20 2005 10:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Paris: Washington's moves to cooperate with India in developing nuclear energy is a one-off situation based on India's 'responsible' track record which sets it apart from other aspiring nuclear powers, US undersecretary of state for political affairs Nicholas Burns has said.

"This cooperation that we're extending to India is unique to India. It is not going to be replicated to other countries," Burns said in Paris yesterday (Oct 19, 2005) on the eve of a trip to India.

He said that 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.

He denied that Washington was employing double standards by opposing Iran's nuclear activities while offering to help India with its own.

"If you look at India's record, actually it's the reverse of Iran's record. India has been a responsible country in safeguarding its nuclear technology over the past 30 years," he told reporters at the US embassy in Paris.

Burns added that, even though India was not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, a deal to promote India's civil nuclear energy programme would bring the country 'into effective compliance with all the international norms' of non-proliferation.

India's arch-rival Pakistan though 'an important country in the war against Al-Qaeda' was, he said, "A country that has proliferated in the past to a major degree."

He added that "We have a relationship with Pakistan, but it doesn't extend to the kind of civil nuclear energy cooperation we intend to have with India."