By Manish Chand, IANS
New Delhi/Vienna : Indian officials have held informal talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the issue of negotiating a nuclear safeguards agreement, indicating that the government is determined to make the India-US nuclear deal a reality despite a deadlock with the Left parties.
The Indian officials met IAEA officials on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog held in Vienna and discussed the possibility of starting talks on the safeguards by the middle of next month, a reliable source, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.
“I am not saying anything. My views on the subject are well known. We are committed to the deal,” Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told IANS Saturday when asked about the status of India’s negotiations with the IAEA.
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei met India’s Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar earlier this week and discussed a range of nuclear issues. But given the political sensitivity of the issue in view of the Left parties’ ultimatum on freezing negotiations with the IAEA, Kakodkar has remained discreet on the subject. He told ElBaradei that India would get back to the UN nuclear watchdog soon for safeguards negotiations.
Richard Stratford, the chief technical negotiator for the US, has stressed the need for both sides to finish the next steps to pave the way to operationalise the deal before the end of the year.
The nuclear deal, despite a bitterly partisan domestic debate, is firmly on track, said the source. After a protracted standoff with the Left parties, the government has decided to risk going ahead with the path-breaking deal rather than keep prevaricating on it, which could eventually kill the deal.
Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma also stressed on the government’s commitment to the deal that will end India’s global nuclear isolation.
“An India-specific safeguard agreement with the IAEA for the nuclear reactors identified under this nuclear cooperation plan is being discussed,” Sharma said in London Friday.
He also said India will reach an agreement with the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) whose unanimous endorsement is required to facilitate civil nuclear trade with New Delhi.
“I am convinced, so is my government, that India’s interest cannot be served by remaining globally isolated, particularly in meeting the critical energy needs,” Sharma said.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is going to Washington next week where he will meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and discuss the broad timeline for implementing the nuclear deal.
The US, on its part, has accelerated efforts to push the deal to its logical conclusion before Washington is swamped by election fever. The US is expecting India to conclude negotiations with the IAEA next month so that it can push for a rule change in the NSG at the nuclear group’s meeting in Johannesburg this November.
Once these two steps are completed, the Bush administration will present the bilateral 123 agreement for an up and down vote by the Congress early this year.
This is, however, the best case scenario. The road to the nuclear deal is still littered with some landmines in the form of an implacable Left combine that has warned the government of serious consequences if it goes ahead with the next step of the IAEA negotiations.
This could plunge the country into a serious political crisis as the government’s survival will be endangered, making early elections next year very likely.
In a sign that the government is ready to take on the Left’s strident campaign against the nuclear deal, the ruling Congress party has come out with a booklet, which is a point-by-point rebuttal of the Left’s critique of the nuclear deal.
The 21-page document will be sent to state units of the Congress for circulation at the district and block levels.