NEW DELHI: US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice sent out a reassuring signal to sceptics in India pointing fingers at the US for its inability to deliver a "clean" exemption at the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting in Vienna.
Rice emphasised that Washington was keen to push through the India-US nuclear deal.
"Our principal focus right now has been on the India civil nuclear deal, having worked through the IAEA, now working through the NSG, and still trying to get into a position to make the appropriate presidential determinations in early September," Rice was quoted by PTI as saying ahead of a visit to Israel.
Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon is in Washington holding discussions with US officials on the new draft agreement which will be tabled at the NSG on September 4.
However, countries like New Zealand, Austria and Ireland are unlikely to give up without a fight. Reports from Wellington suggest that prime minister Helen Clark is standing firm on the decision to impose strict conditions on the waiver. Clark said her country was working with like-minded nations like Austria to draw up conditions for an exemption. Austria too will be tough to crack as it is a country which is proud of its record of being a nuclear free state.
While Rice spoke to reporters in Washington, in New Delhi ambassador Mulford on Monday had sent out a similar statement. Mulfords effort was to counter speculations here that the US is propping up some of the smaller nations to block a clean waiver for India at the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Mulford was in Vienna when the 45-member non-proliferation body met last week.
The fact that India has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty weighed heavily on the minds of countries like New Zealand, Austria, Ireland and the Nordic states.
Ambassador Mulford, now back in the capital, reaffirmed the United States commitment to quickly conclude the remaining steps to formalise the landmark nuclear agreement signed by prime minister Manmohan Singh and president Bush in July 2005.
"The US and India stand shoulder-to-shoulder in their desire for a clean exception and we will continue to work with our Indian partners to persuade the Nuclear Suppliers Group countries that such an exemption is in the international communitys best interest," the ambassador said.
There are many in India who are turning round now to say that Washington wants the waiver at the NSG to come with strings attached. g_seema@dnaindia.net
