US wants Indian assurance on non-proliferation

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Nov 16 (PTI) As top Indian and US officials
race to conclude negotiations on reprocessing of spent fuel,
the Obama Administration is insisting for an assurance from
India on nuclear non-proliferation, a sticking point in
clearing the way for nuclear commerce.

The requirement of the "assurance", which is seen as a
"proximate obstacle" to doing business, has suprised the
Indian side which is looking forward to implementation of the
123 Agreement for civil nuclear cooperation signed last year.
The issue is expected to figure in the talks during the
upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here,
the first world leader to be the State guest under the
ten-month-old Obama Administration.
The Obama administration cited the requirement of the
assurance in February last and this has been pushed by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Energy Secretary Stevan
Chu during their visits to India later.
In the absence of such an "assurance" letter from
India, the US Department of Energy would not be able to issue
the mandatory license –called Part 810 (pronounced Part eight
ten) – to American companies for doing any kind of civilian
nuclear trade with the country, the sources said. (MORE) PTI
LKJ
RDM



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