Tuesday, August 8 2006 11:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: US considers the India-US nuclear deal good for both Washington as well as for non-proliferation and New Delhi a 'very responsible actor' on that front notwithstanding last week's sanctions against two Indian companies.

"We believe that the Indian government has a very strong record overall on the non-proliferation front and the nuclear deal with India is a good one for the US, is a good one for the international community on the non-proliferation front," the State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack, told sources on Monday (07 Aug, 2006).

There are 33 companies, both private and state-controlled, from around the world that are currently sanctioned for selling banned material to Iran, he points out, disagreeing with a suggestion that the sanctions will not reflect well on India's non-proliferation record.

McCormack also denies that there was any deliberate attempt to withhold information from the US Congress about the impending sanctions against two Indian firms before the House of Representatives voted on the India-US nuclear deal on July 26.

A tightly controlled process is followed in such cases not only for the sake of a country or company's reputation, "but also to make sure that you don't tip your hand", he says, adding that there is again a process to make such decisions public in the Federal Register.

But "on issues related to non-proliferation, there's a constant dialogue with the US Congress", McCormack says.

"And in this particular case I don't know, I'm not aware of any particular breach of etiquette or past conduct or even regulation," he adds.

"As many as 33 companies from different countries are currently sanctioned under the Iran Act," he says.

"But we believe the Indian government itself is a responsible actor, very responsible actor on the front of non-proliferation," McCormack adds.

He says there are private entities from around the world and there are state-controlled entities, where the economy is dominated by the state, which break American law. When they do break American law, US will hold them to account through the sanctioning process, he adds.

"But we believe that the Indian government is and has a very strong record overall on the non-proliferation front and that the deal negotiated between the US and India on nuclear issues is a good one for the US, is a good one for the international community on the non-proliferation front," he says.