IAEA refusal queers Nuclear pitch for govt
The draft safeguards agreement, which is expected to be finalised at the next round of negotiations that begins on January 16, is certain to be rejected by the Left parties here.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The government’s attempts to extract fuel supply guarantees from the IAEA appear to have made little headway with the atomic energy agency refusing to make such an exception for India. The draft safeguards agreement, which is expected to be finalised at the next round of negotiations that begins on January 16, is certain to be rejected by the Left parties here.
The government was hoping to tame the Left with a draft agreement that included fuel supply guarantees. The inclusion of such an element is not part of a standard IAEA safeguards agreement. The sticking points are the inclusion of corrective measures as the reactors will be put under IAEA safeguards for perpetuity.
Also both sides have not reached a consensus on including a provision on India’s right to have fuel reserves for the lifetime of the reactors as a safeguard against disruption of fuel supplies. Such assurances have never been part of any safeguards agreement as fuel assurances can only come from countries that export uranium, and not from the monitoring agency.
On its part, the Left has made it clear that a draft that does not contain fuel supply guarantee agreement would not be acceptable. In any case, the Left parties are looking for excuses to kill the nuclear deal. Government leaders, who are familiar with the negotiations in the IAEA, admitted that the deal was headed to the cold storage.
But government managers publicly put up a confident front and expressed hope that the negotiations would be wrapped up in the fourth round. “We hope to do another round (of negotiations) in the middle of January in Vienna... where we hope to wrap it up. The discussions are proceeding smoothly,” foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said without going into any details. He added that they hoped to reach a satisfactory conclusion. “We hope to wrap it in a rapid and satisfactory conclusion,” he said.
With the NSG waiver and US Congress approval for the 123 Agreement still pending, the government needs to finalise the text of the agreement with the IAEA before the end of this month. The government also has not reached a stage where it can start demanding definitive responses from other countries.
When asked whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will ask for China's support in the NSG, Mr Menon said: “We have not actually come to that stage.” He said that when it reaches the NSG, India would seek the support of all countries for an unconditional NSG exemption.
The government was hoping to tame the Left with a draft agreement that included fuel supply guarantees. The inclusion of such an element is not part of a standard IAEA safeguards agreement. The sticking points are the inclusion of corrective measures as the reactors will be put under IAEA safeguards for perpetuity.
Also both sides have not reached a consensus on including a provision on India’s right to have fuel reserves for the lifetime of the reactors as a safeguard against disruption of fuel supplies. Such assurances have never been part of any safeguards agreement as fuel assurances can only come from countries that export uranium, and not from the monitoring agency.
On its part, the Left has made it clear that a draft that does not contain fuel supply guarantee agreement would not be acceptable. In any case, the Left parties are looking for excuses to kill the nuclear deal. Government leaders, who are familiar with the negotiations in the IAEA, admitted that the deal was headed to the cold storage.
But government managers publicly put up a confident front and expressed hope that the negotiations would be wrapped up in the fourth round. “We hope to do another round (of negotiations) in the middle of January in Vienna... where we hope to wrap it up. The discussions are proceeding smoothly,” foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said without going into any details. He added that they hoped to reach a satisfactory conclusion. “We hope to wrap it in a rapid and satisfactory conclusion,” he said.
With the NSG waiver and US Congress approval for the 123 Agreement still pending, the government needs to finalise the text of the agreement with the IAEA before the end of this month. The government also has not reached a stage where it can start demanding definitive responses from other countries.
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When asked whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will ask for China's support in the NSG, Mr Menon said: “We have not actually come to that stage.” He said that when it reaches the NSG, India would seek the support of all countries for an unconditional NSG exemption.
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