India, Russia all set to sign landmark nuke pact

G Sudhakar Nair
Moscow, Dec 6 (PTI) Barring last-minute hitches, India
and Russia are set to sign a new civil nuclear pact Monday
after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Summit talks with
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev which significantly will
ensure uninterrupted uranium fuel supplies from Moscow in the
event of termination of bilateral ties in this field for any
reason.

The overarching framework for the nuclear cooperation
between the two countries will be an addition to the three
defence agreements which will be inked after Summit talks in
Kremlin Monday.
The Indo-Russian pact on atomic cooperation is a
significant document and goes much further than the 123
agreement between India and the US, sources said.
The agreement with Russia is considered by India as a
major improvement over the 123 pact which provides for not
just termination of ongoing cooperation but also for the
return to the US of already supplied components and fuel in
the event of the nuclear agreement being terminated.
The pact with Russia is marked by a forward-looking
language in matters relating to reprocessing, nuclear
equipments and transfer of technology, the sources said.
Singh, who arrived here Sunday, will be holding talks
with Medvedev at the Kremlin on a wide range of issues aimed
at taking the strategic ties to new heights. He will also meet
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Ahead of the visit, Singh had said that Indo-Russia
atomic cooperation is a key pillar in bilateral relations.
(MORE) PTI GSN
ANU


The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this
message are intended for the exclusive
use of the addressee(s) and may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged
information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please
notify the sender immediately and destroy
all copies of this message and any attachments contained in it.