By IANS,
New Delhi : Ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi, Russian Ambassador Alexander Kadakin Friday said negotiations on issues relating to civil nuclear liability law are still going on and stressed that if India insisted on liability, the price of Kudankulam units III and IV will go up.
The units III and IV are “grandsons of the original agreement” on Kudankulam units I and II which came into effect much before the civil nuclear liability law, the Russian envoy told reporters here.
If India insists on nuclear liability, the price of units III and IV will go up, he said.
He, however, added that Russia has not changed terms of credit for units III and IV.
Issues relating to civil nuclear liability law and the future road map of civil nuclear cooperation will figure in discussions between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Putin during the 13th India-Russia summit Monday.
Russia has contended that the civil nuclear liability law should not apply to these units as the agreement on them predates the 2010 civil liability law, and could be seen as “grandfathered” by the original 1988 agreement.
India has indicated that it is ready for price escalation, but has made it clear that will not compromise its civil nuclear liability regime. The price negotiations for units III and IV are to be decided by a techno-commercial panel.