No uranium unless India signs NPT: Australian PM

NEW DELHI: Australia on Monday ruled out sale of uranium to India until it signs NPT. It also announced setting up of a global body for nuclear disarmament by roping in like minded countries.

Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd announced creation of the Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament Commission during his visit to Japan after laying a wreath in Hiroshima, the site of first atomic bombings in 1945.

The commission to be co-chaired by the former foreign minister Gareth Evans will examine the work of two similar earlier panels, the Australian-led Canberra Commission and Japan���s Tokyo Forum, to develop a plan of action for the next non-proliferation Treaty review conference in 2010.

The first task of the panel will be to report to a major international conference of experts in Australia late next year. ���Australia has the largest known uranium reserves in the world. We can, therefore, understand the different concerns that different countries bring to this debate,��� he said denying that the plan was a way to allow Australia to sell uranium to India, which is not a NPT signatory.