Tuesday, March 7 2006 16:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: Seeking to drum up support of the sceptical lawmakers, the US has said the nuclear deal with India would bring it into the "non-proliferation mainstream" and dismissed any parallel between the Indian and Iranian programmes.

Giving a preview of the Bush administration's decision, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, who played a key role in clinching the deal, told an audience at Heritage Foundation here yesterday that the deal was good for India and America and brought "India into the non-proliferation mainstream."

The agreement finalised during the visit of President George W Bush to New Delhi last week "will allow India for the very first time in the life of its nuclear programme to be able to submit itself in a transparent way for international inspections. We think this is a major gain for the non-proliferation community."

Burns said that all civilian reactors built by India in future would come under international safeguards.

"On a deal as esoteric, frankly and as complex as this one, members of the Senate and House are going to want to see the details and a full explanation, and how we intend to give them," he said, adding it might take "several weeks or even months" before Congress approved it.

Burns said the US will not and has not recognised the nuclear weapon status of India but at the same time "space" has been made for New Delhi in the international non-proliferation regime.

Rejecting some critics argument as to what message the US was sending to Iran by signing the deal with India, Burns said "we do not see the connection between what Iran is doing and what India seeks to do. India is the responsible one, Iran is the irresponsible one."

He said while Tehran is trying to extricate itself from the obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), India is moving towards it.

He also dismissed a suggestion that the deal somehow enhanced India's weapons programme. "India has a strategic programme" that existed even before this deal was worked out, he said, adding the "future intentions are to build up the civilian sector for electricity."

He pointed out that India had made a number of commitments like bringing 14 out of 22 reactors into international safeguards, and promised that all future civilian thermal and breeder reactors would come into international inspections fold.

There was the concept of perpetuity, he said, adding India had landmark export control regulations when it came to weapons of mass destruction.

Burns pointed out that for a civil trade with India on nuclear energy, the Bush Administration would need a consensus within the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) besides Congressional approval.

Washington is encouraged by the first reactions from the NSG, he said, noting that it has broad support even if it is not universal.