Well if a slap is involved here I guess its on India's face.Its not even been 3 weeks since the agreement was signed where the Administration agreed to find a cure for India's percieved Nuclear injustices and they are already back to the same kinda Jazz.
The supply by Russia is under the 'safety clause' i.e. if the fuel does not reach in time you might have a spectacular nuclear disaster. It was not intended as a blackmail I am sure. If US had supplied the fuel India would not have had to look elsewhere.
India counters U.S. objections to Russia's decision to supply fuel
Special Correspondent
Change your laws and we will buy Light Enriched Uranium from you too, Washington told
# Russian fuel supply "really has no connection to our nuclear deal with the U.S."
# Once the laws are amended "India looks forward to the U.S. emerging as a major partner... "
NEW DELHI: Dangling the carrot of "major" civilian nuclear imports before the United States in the event of a change in the laws there, India on Wednesday countered Washington's objections to Russia's decision to supply light enriched uranium (LEU) for the Tarapur plant.
"The U.S. is aware of the urgent need for fuel for Tarapur," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said when asked for his response to Washington's reservations about the Russian decision. "There is no violation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) guidelines and Russia has approached the group under the safety exception clause," he said. Senior officials told The Hindu that the Russian offer "really has no connection to our nuclear deal with the United States."
In all interactions over the past year, Russia assured India that it would continue to provide LEU for Tarapur as and when required, an official said. This point was reiterated when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went to Moscow last December and the final technical details of the transfer were sorted out in January. However, Russia waited till India and the U.S. reached agreement on March 2 before notifying the NSG of its decision.
First shipment
The Hindu has learnt that the first shipment of LEU from Russia is expected to arrive in India "by the end of the month."
U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli on Tuesday said the Russian fuel offer was premature, as India was yet to implement the civilian-military separation commitments made in the July 18, 2005 nuclear agreement with the U.S.
"[We] recognise that ... they have need for fuel," said Mr. Ereli, when asked about the India-Russia deal. "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 will take that it has not yet taken."
In response, the MEA made it clear that it was now for the U.S. to take the next step forward. "India had made a request to the U.S. to supply fuel for Tarapur but this was not possible under current U.S. laws," the spokesperson said.
"The July 18 joint statement has stated that the U.S. will seek to adjust its laws and seek a change in NSG guidelines to enable full civil nuclear cooperation with India, including fuel supplies for the safeguarded reactors at Tarapur."
Noting that the U.S. Congress "is currently debating a change in laws, which would enable full civilian nuclear energy cooperation with India", the spokesperson said that once the U.S. laws were amended "India looks forward to the U.S. emerging as a major and reliable partner to India not only in respect of assured fuel supplies but for other aspects of civilian nuclear energy cooperation."
The MEA's suggestion that the U.S. could emerge as a "major" partner in the nuclear field echoes a similar point made by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a recent op-ed. "India plans to import eight nuclear reactors by 2012," she wrote in the Washington Post on March 13, adding, "If U.S. companies win just two of those reactor contracts, it will mean thousands of new jobs".
The spokesperson reiterated the U.S. commitment in the July agreement "in the meantime, to encourage its partners to consider India's request for such fuel supplies expeditiously."
He said India had had to seek urgent and limited supplies of uranium to enable the Tarapur plant to continue its operations in safety.