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Friday, August 22, 2008
NSG waiver: US hints at changes in text
The United States on Friday indicated for the first time that it might be agreeable to accommodating changes in the NSG waiver proposal but claimed in the same breath tha it was pushing for a clean text.
“I don’t want to lie to you...I can’t really lie. There might be some changes that we could accept. But we are pushing for a clean text,” US assistant secretary of state (South and Central Asian affairs) told reporters in Mumbai.
“We need to listen to countries that have objections,” Boucher said, adding that “we won’t allow anything that will impede (the Indo-US civil nuclear) deal”.
“The US and India will have to sit together and see what we can accommodate and what we can’t. We will have to talk to the other governments involved”, Boucher said. “If you are making an exception... There has to be a certain logic to it,” he said.
Stating that “this deal is a good deal for India, not just in terms of economic growth and energy but also in terms of India’s relations with international community,” he said, “It is a big deal for us and a big deal for India. The ball is in everybody’s court”.
“Most of the countries I talked to and most of the countries we are hearing from Vienna are positive. They understand the sort of importance in having cooperation with India,” he said.
Boucher said that the Bush administration plans to present the deal to the US Congress in September for its endorsement. He said there was no possibility of the deal being scrapped by the next government in New Delhi as the agreement was between two nations and the new government was obliged to honour the international commitments of the earlier regime.
However, the issue of forging a strategic alliance between India and the US will have to wait till new governments are installed in both Washington and New Delhi, Boucher said.
“I don’t want to lie to you...I can’t really lie. There might be some changes that we could accept. But we are pushing for a clean text,” US assistant secretary of state (South and Central Asian affairs) told reporters in Mumbai.
“We need to listen to countries that have objections,” Boucher said, adding that “we won’t allow anything that will impede (the Indo-US civil nuclear) deal”.
“The US and India will have to sit together and see what we can accommodate and what we can’t. We will have to talk to the other governments involved”, Boucher said. “If you are making an exception... There has to be a certain logic to it,” he said.
Stating that “this deal is a good deal for India, not just in terms of economic growth and energy but also in terms of India’s relations with international community,” he said, “It is a big deal for us and a big deal for India. The ball is in everybody’s court”.
“Most of the countries I talked to and most of the countries we are hearing from Vienna are positive. They understand the sort of importance in having cooperation with India,” he said.
Boucher said that the Bush administration plans to present the deal to the US Congress in September for its endorsement. He said there was no possibility of the deal being scrapped by the next government in New Delhi as the agreement was between two nations and the new government was obliged to honour the international commitments of the earlier regime.
However, the issue of forging a strategic alliance between India and the US will have to wait till new governments are installed in both Washington and New Delhi, Boucher said.
Labels: American Politics
# posted by gopi @ 11:42 PM 
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