By IRNA,
New Delhi : While supporting to Islamic Republic of Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, India Saturday said, “technical assessments over Iran’s nuclear issue are best done by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
While speaking on Iran’s peaceful nuclear issue, India’s Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon during an interactive session at the India Global Forum said that it was not in India’s interest to have another nuclear weapons state in its neighbourhood but Tehran had the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy subject to its international obligations, PTI reported.
Menon said India has made its stand quite clear that while Iran may have the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy it also has an obligation to various international commitments it undertook.
Ultimately it is an issue of whether or not it is implementing the obligations it undertook. It depends on technical assessments which are best done by the IAEA, he said.
Stressing on the need to change the way the world looks at non- proliferation, Menon favoured new international consensus on the issue.
We need to have a system in place to which Iran is a party, he said adding that sanctions and military action will only exacerbate the situation.
Sanctions or military action – none of them is a lasting solution – will only exacerbate the situation. We need to evolve something that involves Iran, he said.
Turning on nuclear fuel bank issue, Menon said that India would be happy to participate in providing a home to a nuclear fuel bank for supplying fuel to nations interested in renewing their atomic energy programmes.
“We run a full nuclear fuel cycle of our own and we would be happy to participate in providing a home for a nuclear fuel bank,” Foreign Secretary said.
However, he pointed out that discussions on this issue of setting up a nuclear fuel bank “were a long way away.”
The concept of having an international nuclear fuel bank was put forth by international Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohammad Elbaradei last year.
It seeks to set up an international uranium enrichment facility where countries can source their nuclear fuel requirements to run atomic power plants.
On the civil nuclear agreement with the US, Menon said India hopes to bring the deal to “fruition” soon.
“We hope civil nuclear cooperation with the US and other countries will become possible soon .. We hope to bring it to fruition soon,” he said.
Menon sought to assure that the nuclear deal is “more of an immediate answer” to India’s energy security needs and less as a non-proliferation issue.
Menon also sought to allay apprehensions about a nuclear flareup between India and Pakistan, both nuclear capable states.
Immediately after the 1998 tests, both India and Pakistan realised that we needed to be in touch with each other. In 1999 itself we agreed on a series of nuclear confidence building measures and we have been carrying that out, he said.
India and Pakistan have set up an expert group on nuclear CBMS which has produced results, Menon said adding that the two countries notify each other on ballistic missile tests and have a series of engagements.