Indo-US N-deal 'fully consistent' with India's interests: Govt

New Delhi, Oct 20 (PTI) Insisting that the civil nuclear
agreement with the U.S. is "fully consistent" with India's
interests, Government today said the pact has "interlocking
provisions" which ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies and right
to reprocess besides "corrective measures" if warranted.

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha, External Affairs
Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India will undertake the civil
nuclear cooperation with the U.S. and any other country on the
basis of bilateral agreements only and that the government has
"no doubt" that Washington will fulfil its "commitments and
obligations" specified in the agreement.

He also underlined that the nuclear deal with the U.S.,
France or the Safeguards Agreement with the International
Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.) entail no hindrance to India's
strategic programme and "we retain the freedom to take action
with regard to our strategic programme even as we engage in
international cooperation in civil nuclear energy."

Mukherjee made the statement on the developments related
to 'India's civil nuclear energy initiative' even as CPI(M)
leader Basudeb Acharia raised the issue of alleged breach of
privilege by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.

Seeking to allay concerns, including whether India would
be able to maintain the independence of its foreign policy,
Mukherjee said "our foreign policy will be determined at all
times by our own assessment of our national interest."

He insisted that "this initiative in no way constrains
our ability to pursue an independent foreign policy. It does
not in any way affect our strategic autonomy. In fact, it does
the opposite by increasing our foreign policy options."


Mukherjee informed the House that after concluding civil
nuclear agreements with the U.S. and France, India hopes to
finalise such a pact with Russia during the upcoming visit of
President Dmitry Medvedev.

The External Affairs Minister said the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (N.S.G.) decision to open up the possibility for India
to engage in civil nuclear cooperation with other countries
actually enhances the country's choices to engage as an equal
partner with the international community.

"I can say emphatically that this initiative creates more
space for us to pursue a foreign policy which serves our
national interest," he said.

He said the I.A.E.A. agreement and the N.S.G. approval
provide India a "passport" to engage in civil nuclear
cooperation with international partners. "We are now in the
process of getting visas by engaging with our international
partners to negotiate and finalise bilateral cooperation
agreements."

Emphasising that the agreements with the U.S. and France
and the one to be signed with Russia "represent a careful
balance of rights and obligations," he said "cooperation with
our international partners will be carried out on the basis of
the terms and provisions" of these pacts.

He said these agreements provide cooperation in various
aspects of nuclear fuel cycle, including fuel supply
assurances "which are the basis of our civil nuclear
initiative as well as our right to build our strategic fuel
reserves, to ensure the uninterrupted operation of our civil
nuclear reactors under IAEA safeguards." PTI AKK
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