Don't transfer your problems to us: India tells US

NEW DELHI: As India made a fresh proposal to break logjam in talks on the civil nuclear deal, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday asked Washington not to "transfer its problems" to New Delhi.

Emphasising that reprocessing right was "absolutely necessary" for India, Mukherjee maintained that the government would not like the nuclear cooperation agreement to have any impact on the country's indigenous strategic programme.

"They say that they have some problems. We say do not transfer your problems to us," he told Karan Thapar's 'Devil's Advocate'programme when referred to Washington's reluctance to grant the reprocessing right.

"What has been agreed in the joint statement of July 2005 and subsequently in March 2006 and what's in our commitment to Parliament they are already Therefore, within these parameters this 123 Agreement has to be signed," he said.

He underlined that the reprocessing right to India will have to be specific to it as New Delhi is not a signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its case cannot be compared with that of Japan, China or Eurotom.

His comments came as India expressed readiness to set up a dedicated reprocessing facility under safeguards in an effort to break the logjam in talks over the 123 agreement.

Asked about the possibility of the reprocessing issue leading to failure of talks, he said "I don't think it (grant of reprocessing right) will be more difficult. We will be able to find some way out."

Mukherjee made it clear that India does not want the repeat of Tarapur case when the US stopped nuclear fuel supplies to the atomic plant after Pokhran tests in 1974.

Describing the negotiations as "protracted" and "complicated", the External Affairs Minister said "both countries are trying their best. I do not doubt their (US') sincerity".

Asked if the US would be ready to exempt India's strategic reserves "without making a mockery of its own law" on right to return of nuclear equipment and fuel, he said: "It is known to everybody that India is not a signatory to NPT. India has its strategic programmes. That is why the separation plan was placed before the Parliament."

He said New Delhi was insisting on India-specific nuclear agreement as it would "like to continue our existing position with respect to other things".

On prospects of the 123 agreement, he said he was "hopeful that everything will fall in line".

Mukherjee said even if the deal fell through, it will not deal a setback to the Indo-US relationship.

"I don't think it will have any adverse impact on the India-US relationship because the India-US relationship is growing," he said.

Observing that the deal was "an important landmark" in Indo-US relationship, the Minister hoped the two countries would "reach the successful conclusion" of the present series of negotiations and hence was not looking at prospect of the talks failing.