Indo-US N-deal has not weakened NPT: US

Officials of more than 180 countries will gather in New York next week for the once-in-a-five year NPT Review Conference.

"We don't believe we weakened the NPT in our peaceful civilian nuclear deal with India," Ellen Tauscher, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control, told a tele- conference with reporters in Washington and New York.

"It's a deal that comes with safeguards, and it comes with a number of other transparency mechanisms that we think, frankly, add to the security and the nonproliferation concerns that we had prior to that," she said in response to a question.

"So I think that, you know, it's not our bad if something else happens, but certainly what we're for and what we make very clear we're for is that we want a strong NPT, we want a strong IAEA that is well funded, that has the authorities it needs to be the right watchdog for the time that we live in," Tauscher said.

Responding to a question on China-Pakistan deal on nuclear power plants, the US official refused to speculate but said that these things take a long time.

"I am not going to speculate on a future perhaps sale between China and Pakistan. These things take a long time. So I'm going to wait to see how that develops," Tauscher said.

The US is disappointed that Pakistan is blocking negotiations on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty.

"I will tell you that I think everyone shares the disappointment that the United States shares, that there is a country (Pakistan) that is blocking the program of work that was a very hard-fought agreement, among the six chairmen -- somewhat historic last year in the conference on disarmament in Geneva -- to move forward on a program of work, to begin negotiations on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty," she said in response to a question.

"As you know, we are for that. (The US) President (Barack) Obama made very clear in his Prague speech a year ago that the United States would move toward negotiation of a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty.

"I think we join a lot of our friends and allies trying to persuade that country to step away and let the program of work go forward, because it would be a long negotiation.
And certainly that is a good opportunity for them, to make their opinions known and their concerns known," Tauscher said.