India is 'unique', no nuclear deal with other countries: US

WASHINGTON: Stating that India was a 'unique' case, the Bush administration has ruled out a similar civilian nuclear deal with any other country including ally Pakistan, and stressed that the 'very high bar' of the Nuclear Suppliers Group on proliferation issue would prevent other nations from getting the same 'treatment' as New Delhi.

"This is complicated enough, I can assure you, that the United States is not going to suggest a similar deal with any other country in the world. We've always felt of India as an exception," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said during a briefing on the Indian civilian nuclear initiative.

"We've made the argument that India has not proliferated its nuclear technology; that India, in effect, outside the system, has played by the rules and that the system would be strengthened by bringing it in. But we're not anticipating, in any way, shape or form, a similar deal for any other country," he added.

Burns said once India completes a safeguards agreement with IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, "then the action, September, October, I hope, November, will turn to the NSG."

"And I think it's important for the NSG countries to be assured that we're all going to be make, on an international basis, an exception for India, but we're not going to have, it won't be a precedent to bring other countries in under the same basis, because India is unique in its history of its civil nuclear programme, and we think that we're going to strengthen the NSG by having the international community take the same decisions that the United States has taken in leading this initiative," he said.

The under secretary also said there is a 'very high bar' in the Nuclear Suppliers Group as 'every single one of the 45 countries has to agree' for a consensus.

"Now, we've been talking to every country in the NSG since 2005 about India. And I think we and some of the European countries will take the lead in arguing in the Nuclear Suppliers Group that this kind of treatment to liberalise the international regime and bring India into full civil nuclear cooperation should be given by every country."

"I don't think there's any other country out there who could be brought, who's not in the NSG who could be brought into the NSG at this point and given the type of treatment that we hope India will be given," Burns said.