Posted on 07/24/2005 5:51:12 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
New Delhi, July 23: France is happy the US is finally ready to accept India as a responsible nuclear state — a line it claims the French leadership has been advocating for seven years. But it is not sure if the growing Indo-US ties will be at its expense and reduce France to being a marginal player in the subcontinent.
“It clearly vindicates our position. We have been advocating that India’s position vis-à-vis the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group must be clarified. It is something that is well-known to the Indian government,” a senior French official said.
The reference was to the agreement Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed with President George W. Bush on civilian nuclear energy in Washington earlier this week.
The official response from Paris has been guarded. “France takes positive note of the important agreement between the US and India on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
“This development is in line with the effort initiated by President Chirac several years ago, in particular in the G8, to allow major emerging industrial countries, whose needs for clean energy are considerable, access to civilian nuclear energy,” it said.
The official spokesperson of the French foreign ministry said in Paris on Wednesday “anything done in this regard must be compatible with the non-proliferation regime”.
“France is pleased in this regard that the agreement between the US and India comprises an announcement by India of initial steps to move closer to nuclear non-proliferation norms,” he added.
As far as France is concerned, India’s commitment to maintain a moratorium on nuclear tests and open its civilian nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection are steps in the right direction. But the segregation of civilian and military nuclear facilities will be difficult and time-consuming and, French officials feel, will take some years to be implemented.
Indian leader addresses Congress
Praises newfound cooperation
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proclaimed India "a responsible nuclear power" Tuesday, going before Congress to hail newfound cooperation with the United States on that sensitive issue and an array of tough problems including terrorism and AIDS.
Basking in the glory of the reversal of a long-standing U.S. policy against helping other nations develop nuclear programs, Singh assured members of the House and Senate that his country has "never been, and never will be a source of proliferation of sensitive technologies."
He told a joint meeting of Congress that India "is fully conscious of the immense responsibilities that come with the possession of advanced technologies, both civilian and strategic" and said his country is "a responsible nuclear power."
In only the eighth such appearance by a foreign visitor in the House chamber in the last five years, Singh told lawmakers that the objective of his trip here was "to lay the basis for transformed ties between our two great countries."
Relations between the world's oldest and largest democracies have often been shadowed by suspicion, but have improved markedly in recent years.
Singh, standing before Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, said the two countries have common interests in such areas as the fight against terrorism, joint work to combat AIDS and dual efforts to promote democracy -- as well as cooperation in developing new energy resources, including nuclear power.
"The field of civil nuclear energy is a vital area for cooperation between our two countries," Singh said.
He noted one area where the two countries do not agree: U.S. resistance to India gaining a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
"The voice of the world's largest democracy surely cannot be left unheard on the Security Council when the United Nations is being restructured," he said.
Singh's speech was the first by an Indian leader since former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000. Such occasions are typically reserved for the United States' closest allies.
"The relationship between our two nations has never been stronger," Bush told Singh on Monday during an elaborate White House welcome, complete with a fife-and-drum corps in full Revolutionary-era regalia.
During an Oval Office meeting, the two leaders broke new ground on nuclear power, with Bush offering U.S. help in India's civilian nuclear program despite its military nuclear capabilities and its refusal to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. India remains one of only four states that have not signed the treaty.
According to a joint statement issued after their meeting, Bush "stated that as a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology, India should acquire the same benefits and advantages as other such states."
India exploded its first nuclear device in 1974. Three more blasts in 1998 led to sanctions by the United States, Japan and Germany.
Monday's joint statement committed Bush to work on getting Congress to approve changes in U.S. law that would allow the United States to help with India's civilian power program, including the possibility of supplying fuel for India's nuclear reactors at Tarapur near Bombay.
"Cleaner energy resources, including nuclear power, are vital for the future of both our economies," Bush said.
Later, during a luncheon for Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "We welcome India as a global partner, and we look forward to the continued strengthening of democratic institutions, values and peace because this partnership will prosper and move forward."
Singh was honored Monday night with a grand White House dinner -- only the fifth of Bush's presidency and the first since his re-election.
Already, Singh's responses to the Bush administration glad-handing suggest that the feeling is mutual.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the refashioning of this bilateral relationship is not merely a matter of diplomatic process," he said at Rice's luncheon. "What we have embarked upon is, therefore, not just for tomorrow, but I sincerely hope and believe that it is for generations to come."
Still, the U.S.-India friendship clearly has its limits: As expected, Singh failed to win Bush's support for India's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/07/19/us.india.ap
"France is happy"
So are pigs in sh*t.
It sounds as if Inspector Clescuea has investigated this pretty thorughly!!
Of course if France has approved this, we MUST approve it! France after all is the Leader in such things and knows the people!
There they go again....The French are still delusional..
Their significance in the World's arena, has already been reduced to pompous backstabbing assholes..
Semper Fi
The French government is a marginal player in some of the suburbs of Paris.
Correction: That's Inspector, Soclueless.
The little influence the French do have is what they gained by selling arms (Mirage etc) and other services to India after we decided to restrict trade and relations soured over India's nuclear program.
France is a bottom feeder. Who wants their junk? French cars? French Mirage fighters? Look at who and how they peddle off their crap. Iraq – Oil for Food. Now they are the ones pushing the hardest to drop the arms restrictions with China. China will buy there stuff. Why? Because no one else will sell them anything. Do you think S. Korea, Japan, Australia, the US, Canada or GB will? No. But France would! They are the bottom feeders of the West. They make the most dubious deals with third rate nations like Iraq under Saddam or even in Serbia. If others won’t sell you Western high tech, ask the French.
Now that US/India relations are getting better they are losing ground by leaps and bounds. Surprised? You shouldn't be.
Red6
Kinda like how India felt after years of hectoring America to make up with the Chinese, even after the war India had with CHina in 62, only to find Kissinger racing to Beijing from Islamabad (Oh, salt in the wound) leaving India out in the cold.
French were outwitted by Bush moving to make legit India's nukes without demanding adherence to the NPT.
As the howls from the Indian Left increase, with a shocked silence and anger from the American Left, India's PM is consolidating the geopolitical shift, much as the BJP consolidated the economic shift, which ironically the PM, Manmohan Singh had driven 15+ years ago.
It probably never occurred to the Froggies that as to their opinion on matters involving the big boys, no one cares.
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