Russia assures India over NSG waiver

Moscow, Jul 15 (PTI) Russia on Friday said India would
continue to enjoy the waiver it received in 2008 from the
Nuclear Suppliers Group's export ban and Moscow wants New
Delhi's full participation in the 45-nation grouping that
regulates the global atomic commerce.
Russia's assurance came after India objected to the
new guidelines adopted last month by the NSG on the export of
nuclear enrichment and reprocessing equipment which include
membership in the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a
condition for supply.
At its plenary session in Holland's Noordwijk on June
20-24, NSG had voted against the supply of nuclear enrichment
and reprocessing (ENR) technology to the countries, which have
not signed the NPT. The decision was widely seen as a blow to
'clean waiver' granted to India in 2008.
"Adopted in 2011, the NSG Plenary decision to
strengthen the monitoring of 'sensitive' nuclear export does
not affect the decision of the Group of September 2008 to
unfreeze the peaceful nuclear cooperation with India," Russian
Foreign Ministry's spokesman Alexander Lukashevich was quoted
as saying by the official ITAR-TASS news agency.
He declared that Russia continues to advocate for full
participation of India in the 45-member NSG and is ready to
back such decision.
Lukashevich said the NSG's Noordwijk plenary "marked
the beginning of substantive discussions on possible ways to
connect New Delhi to the nuclear export control regime."
"We have repeatedly raised the issue of establishing
regular contacts between the NSG and India and create a
mechanism to allow New Delhi to participate in the development
of export control norms in the nuclear field," he said.
"In Noordwijk, we reaffirmed our strong commitment and
willingness to ensure full participation of India in NSG," he
added.
Expressing satisfaction at the development of
Indo-Russian civil nuclear cooperation as an 'important
supporting element' of bilateral strategic partnership,
Lukashevich said Moscow hopes ties in nuclear energy will
further expand and strengthen in accordance with the Russian
laws and in strict compliance of their international
obligations by both the parties.
"All necessary arrangements are fixed in the Agreement
of March 12, 2010 between the governments of our countries on
cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes, as well as in a joint statement, which leaders of
our countries, adopted in December 2010," he said.