By NNN-PTI,
Melbourne : Refusing to take Australia’s no as an answer to India’s plea for sale of uranium, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna pleaded without success for a change in that position.
Krishna raised the issue of uranium sale with Australia for the second consecutive day during his meeting with his counterpart Kevin Rudd who, however, said that his country’s stand remains unchanged.
The External Affairs minister had Wednesday taken up the matter with Australia’s Resource, Energy and Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson.
Rudd acknowledged India’s clean record on nuclear proliferation, but maintained it was Australia’s national policy not to sell uranium to NPT non-signatories.
“Australia fundamentally respects India’s long standing credentials on the non-proliferation question,” he said.
Addressing a joint press conference here with Krishna, Rudd acknowledged that India has not been responsible for a single act of nuclear weapons proliferation anywhere in the world.