ATOMIC REACTION

Washington/New Delhi/ Mumbai: Within 24 hours of Russia’s decision to supply 60 tonnes of enriched uranium to two atomic power plants at Tarapur, the Bush administration on Wednesday cautioned the Putin government against the move, saying Washington would prefer Moscow to wait till New Delhi honoured its obligations under the Indo-US nuclear deal. However, dismissing US reservations and defending the offer made by Russia — a member of the 45-country Nuclear Suppliers’ Group — India said the move did not violate NSG guidelines. “Russia has approached NSG under the Safety Exception Clause,” MEA spokesman Navtej Sarna said. But in Washington, a US State Department spokesman expressed serious reservations about the Russian initiative. “We recognise that...they (India) have need for fuel. And we think that deals to supply that fuel should move forward on the basis of a joint initiative, on the basis of steps that India has not yet taken,” the spokesman said. As an NSG member, Russia cannot supply fuel to countries, like India, that have not signed the NPT. But the Safety Clause allows fuel transfers if there is reason to believe that starving a reactor of fuel could result in a nuclear hazard. The US opposed a similar move by Russia a few years ago. The two Tarapur plants became operational in 1969. But after India detonated its first nuclear bomb in 1974, the US terminated fuel supplies to Tarapur. Russia has agreed to supply the urgently-needed uranium for the plants. A deal involving 60 tonnes of fuel is likely to be signed in New Delhi during Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov’s visit beginning Thursday.

Washington/New Delhi/ Mumbai: US non-proliferation purists have jumped on Russia’s offer to supply uranium to Tarapur as an example of how the Indo-US deal will trigger nuclear commerce with the prospect of Russia and China dealing with known proliferators such as Pakistan, Iran and North Korea. “It’s OK to supply fuel to India but let’s wait until India has taken the steps called for in the joint initiative to bring its programme in conformity with NPT standards,’’ a news agency quoted a senior official as saying. The Russian decision to supply fuel to Tarapur is likely to create ripples in Washington where US lawmakers are preparing to introduce a legislation in the Congress on Thursday to give effect to the Indo-US nuclear deal. A bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act will be introduced by Congressmen Henry Hyde and Tom Lantos in the House of Representatives, and by Senator Richard Lugar in the Senate, sources said. Though the US State Department has denied that the Russian supply has any connection to the nuclear deal, it is significant that the Russian offer was announced in Washington. The safety exception clause in the NSG guidelines was used by Russia in 2001 to supply fuel to Tarapur, though in 2003, the same clause could not be used by Russia under pressure from US. The Indo-US nuclear deal lifted the barrier to this emergency transaction. The Indo-US deal envisages the uninterrupted supply of fuel. The Russian announcement assumes significance because the July 18, 2005 Indo-US declaration says: “In the meantime, the US will encourage its partners to also consider this request (of fuel supplies for the safeguarded reactors at Tarapur expeditiously.’’) Russia has reportedly informed the NSG about its decision to provide fuel to Tarapur under the safety guidelines. Explaining the Russian decision, Nuclear Power Corporation CMD S K Jain said Russia began supplying fuel to Tarapur in 2002. “The announcement by the external affairs ministry on Tuesday is a renewal of that arrangement and augurs well for the future of both the units,’’ he said. But this argument may not cut much ice with Washington where the introduction of the enabling legislation is just the first step in a complex process. The deal would be complemented with other moves such as a US-India bilateral treaty and an agreement between India and the IAEA on safeguards, the sources said.

India for expansion of N-cooperation with Russia

Desperately short" of hydrocarbon resources, India today sought expansion of civil nuclear cooperation with Russia and talked about the possibility of involving Moscow in the Iran-India gas pipeline project.

India also thanked Russia for its decision to supply urgently-needed 60 metric tonnes of uranium to Tarapur Atomic Plant Station (TAPS).

After about two-hour long talks with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Fradkov here, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India envisioned a "substantial increase" in the share of nuclear energy in its overall energy mix as he appreciated Moscow's decision to supply uranium to Tarapur nuclear plant.

The US has expressed reservations to the move to supply uranium, saying such a step should be taken only after India fulfilled its obligations under the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

However, both India and Russia have brushed aside the US reservations saying the move did not violate the NSG guidelines. During the talks between Singh and Fradkov, India is understood to have sought expediting of supplies of material and equipment by Russia for under-construction Kudankulam nuclear project.

Under a deal of 2001, Russia had committed to supply 90 per cent of material and equipment to units I and II of the

plant which are scheduled to be operational by 2007 and 2008 respectively.

We see the Kudankulam project as a flagship of our cooperation" in the field of nuclear energy, Singh said

He said his discussions with Fradkov were focussed on giving a "new depth" to the strategic partnership between the two countries and that India looked forward to working closely, bilaterally and multilaterally, with Russia.

The Prime Minister said the growing economies of India and Russia offered considerable scope for cooperation in energy, information technology, biotechnology and high- technology commerce.

"While we explore ways at the government level to promote our economic ties, business communities must develop greater interaction and business-to-business contacts. Private sector partnerships must be the new cementing force in our relations. Greater facilitation of business travel will help in this regard," he said.

"Singh said he has accepted President Vladimir Putin's invitation to attend the G-8 Summit being hosted by Russia in St.Petersburg in July this year. Asked about the prospects of Russia's involvement in the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipelne project, Singh said "ways and means can be explored" in this regard considering

that Moscow had the experience and expertise in buildng such pipelines.

Fradkov said if such a suggestion is put forward, Russia would consider it.

"India is desperately short of hydrocarbon resources and therefore we are interested in entering into bilateral and trilateral arrangements to meet the gaps, Singh said, noting that the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project was being pursued in this context.

Describing Russia as a "tried and tested friend", Singh said "Ours is a strategic partnership based on trust, confidence and abiding convergence of nation al interests." As large modernizing economies, the two countries have an interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation and jointly making global interdependence beneficial, he said.

Terming his visit as a "success" and "very substantial", Fradkov said Russia has drawn up a "business-action plan" to bolster economic and trade ties between the two countries.

He assured to amicably sort out the procedural problems, mainly related to visa requirements, encountered by Indian businessmen wishing to do business in Russia. "We want efficient business-to-business relations", he said.

The two sides were discussing bilateral and trilateral arrangements for accelerating the pace of development, he said.

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