As India made a fresh proposal to break logjam in talks on the civil nuclear deal, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday asked Washington not to “transfer its problems” to New Delhi.
Emphasising that reprocessing right was “absolutely necessary” for India, Mr Mukherjee maintained that the government would not like the nuclear cooperation agreement to have any impact on the country’s indigenous strategic programme.
“They (the US) say that they have some problems. We say do not transfer your problems to us,” he told  a TV channel when referred to Washington’s reluctance to grant the reprocessing right.
“What has been agreed in the joint statement of July 2005 and subsequently in March 2006 and what’s in our commitment to Parliament they are aware of it. Therefore, within these parameters this 123 Agreement has to be signed,” he said.
No comparison
He underlined that the reprocessing right to India will have to be specific to it as New Delhi is not a signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its case cannot be compared with that of Japan and China. His comments came as India expressed readiness to set up a dedicated reprocessing facility under safeguards in an effort to break the logjam in talks over the 123 agreement.
Asked about the possibility of the reprocessing issue leading to failure of talks, he said “I don’t think it (grant of reprocessing right) will be more difficult. We will be able to find some way out.”
Mr Mukherjee made it clear that India does not want the repeat of Tarapur case when the United States stopped nuclear fuel supplies to the atomic plant after Pokhran tests in 1974.
Asked if the US would be ready to exempt India’s strategic reserves “without making a mockery of its own law” on right to return of nuclear equipment and fuel, he said: “It is known to everybody that India is not a signatory to NPT.
SECURITY ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED
Washington, pti: India and the US is set to discuss defence and security matters, including global non-proliferation challenges, during a two-day visit of top State department official to New Delhi.
US Assistant Secretary of State C Rood would continue the “long-standing” dialogue between New Delhi and Washington on these issues, the State Department has said.
Mr Rood’s discussions during his visit to New Delhi from June 13 will encompass global non-proliferation challenges and approaches to addressing them, including multilateral initiatives and strategic trade controls, the State Department said.