By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : Efforts by the US to win an exemption for India to engage in nuclear trade may be complicated by an Israeli move in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) that controls such trade, reports the Washington Post.
Documents outlining Israel’s proposal were distributed to the 45-member NSG in March and have been circulated on Capitol Hill in recent days, just as the administration is pushing to clear the final hurdles blocking a groundbreaking agreement with India, the influential US daily reported Sunday.
Countries such as India, Israel and Pakistan that have not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are prohibited from participating in international nuclear trade, including buying reactors, uranium fuel or yellowcake.
Israel, which has a small nuclear programme, has not confirmed that it has nuclear weapons, saying only that it would not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East. Estimates of its stockpile range from 75 to 400 weapons.
The Israeli presentation, made in a “nonpaper” that allows for official deniability, was offered in the context of the NSG’s debate over India’s bid for an exemption, according to a March 17 letter by the NSG’s chairman cited by the Post.
Among the nations that have not signed the treaty, only India and Israel would qualify for admission to the NSG under the Israeli proposal.
The Post quoted David Siegel, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, as saying it would be “grossly inaccurate” to suggest that Israel is demanding an exemption or linking its efforts to any other issue, such as the India debate.
“Israel has never asked the NSG for any exemption to its nuclear supply guidelines, nor has Israel made any Israeli-specific request of the NSG,” Siegel said.
“Israel, recognised to be a full-fledged adherent to the NSG guidelines, has urged the NSG to consider adopting a generic, multi-tiered, criteria-based approach towards nuclear technology transfers.” He noted that some NSG countries previously have suggested such an approach.
“Modification of the NSG guidelines, were it to take place along the lines proposed by Israel, would considerably enhance the nuclear non-proliferation regime,” Siegel said.
The Israeli plan, according to the Post, offers 12 criteria for allowing nuclear trade with non-treaty states, including one that hints at Israel’s status as an undeclared nuclear weapons state: A state should be allowed to engage in nuclear trade if it applies “stringent physical protection, control and accountancy measures to all nuclear weapons, nuclear facilities, source material and special nuclear material in its territory”.
The Israeli document could affect the debate over India, the Post said citing Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington.
“The dynamics at the NSG are that no country wants to stand in the way of the largest country, India, and the most powerful country, the United States,” he said. But Kimball said that when the NSG meets in November, consensus on India would be hard to reach.
“Israel’s proposal gives some countries a reason to suggest” an alternative approach to a specific exemption, he said. Kimball said Israel has a record as good or better than India’s in following international nuclear rules.
Delays in winning approval for India would be troubling for President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who view the pact as an important part of their foreign policy legacy. The deal is stirring controversy in India while Congress must still give approval, making delay until an election year potentially fatal, the daily said.
Reflecting that concern, the Bush administration is rejecting the Israeli proposal, the Post said citing State Department spokesman Tom Casey: “We view the India deal as unique and don’t see it as a precedent for any other country, including Israel.”