'India won't change policy on Myanmar'
Officials said that India's conduct on Iran has been in keeping with other members of IAEA and that it will continue its policy of not supporting sanctions which adversely impact the people.
By Sachin Parashar, TNN |
NEW DELHI: As Barack Obama called upon India to back US policies on Myanmar and Iran, top official sources on Tuesday made it amply clear that India is not looking at modifying its foreign policy in lieu of support for a permanent UNSC seat. They said that while India is engaging Myanmar because of strategic and security reasons, it cannot ignore its civilisational ties with Iran.
‘‘ We have security reasons as well as strategic interest in engaging with Myanmar. We have a close and contiguous relationship with Myanmar. On Iran, we have already said that we don’t want another nuclear power in the region . However, we share a civilisational relationship with Iran which we cannot ignore,’’ said a source, adding that India is not into any bargaining game on the two countries.
Without taking China’s name, the source said India could not be expected to play ‘‘ braindead’’ when another country north of Myanmar was very active there. ‘‘ Myanmar is not a country on the dark side of the moon but a country on our borders with which we have to deal,’’ said the official.
Officials added that India’s conduct on Iran has been in keeping with other members of IAEA and that it will continue its policy of not supporting sanctions which adversely impact the people. They reiterated that while Iran like any other country has the right to peaceful nuclear programme, it has to fulfil certain international commitments.
Obama mentioning Myanmar and Iran in his Parliament speech has led to an impression that the US wants to keep India on probation till the time UNSC reforms do take place and India does become a permanent member.
Sources, however, said Obama’s announcement of support for India’s bid was unequivocal. Top government sources also said that while several DRDO and ISRO establishments have been taken off the US entity list, discussions were underway to get the same result in the case of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
‘‘ We have security reasons as well as strategic interest in engaging with Myanmar. We have a close and contiguous relationship with Myanmar. On Iran, we have already said that we don’t want another nuclear power in the region . However, we share a civilisational relationship with Iran which we cannot ignore,’’ said a source, adding that India is not into any bargaining game on the two countries.
Without taking China’s name, the source said India could not be expected to play ‘‘ braindead’’ when another country north of Myanmar was very active there. ‘‘ Myanmar is not a country on the dark side of the moon but a country on our borders with which we have to deal,’’ said the official.
Officials added that India’s conduct on Iran has been in keeping with other members of IAEA and that it will continue its policy of not supporting sanctions which adversely impact the people. They reiterated that while Iran like any other country has the right to peaceful nuclear programme, it has to fulfil certain international commitments.
Obama mentioning Myanmar and Iran in his Parliament speech has led to an impression that the US wants to keep India on probation till the time UNSC reforms do take place and India does become a permanent member.
Sources, however, said Obama’s announcement of support for India’s bid was unequivocal. Top government sources also said that while several DRDO and ISRO establishments have been taken off the US entity list, discussions were underway to get the same result in the case of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
Related Articles
India to lead next phase of global steel demand, says Lakshmi MittalADVERTISEMENT
