Shyam Saran tries to sound positive on N-deal
India's special envoy on N-deal Shyam Saran has expressed govt's desire to conclude the deal in the lifetime of Bush administration.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: With political consensus eluding the Indo-US nuclear deal, the government on Tuesday acknowledged that continuing delays could only increase ``political uncertainties������ in India and the US over concluding the agreement.
Special envoy on the nuclear deal Shyam Saran expressed the government���s desire to conclude the deal in the lifetime of the current US administration rather then leave it for the next administration. ``Obviously, the sooner we have the deal, the better. As the process continues, the world is not standing still. The level of political uncertainty will increase. Therefore, it is in our interest to get it through sooner than later,������ said Mr Saran.
With the Left refusing to let the government move ahead on the nuclear deal, the government cannot hope to get the deal moving. In this scenario, Mr Saran, while acknowledging that there are ``certain political realities on the ground������ in India and also in the US, could only express the government���s commitment to the nuclear deal.
Without the Left parties approval the government cannot finalise the safeguards agreement with IAEA. Even though the negotiations between IAEA and India are over and the shape of the safeguards agreement is more or less finalised, the Nuclear Suppliers Group will only vote on a waiver for India after the safeguards agreement is initiated. This was confirmed by Mr Saran who said that the waiver issue would not figure on the agenda of the upcoming NSG meeting. ``The NSG has given us to understand that it will not put it formally on the agenda,������ Mr Saran said.
Further the US Congress will only vote once IAEA and NSG steps are completed. Talking about the post-election scenario in the US, Mr Saran said that ���the encouraging aspect������ is that when the last time the US Congress dealt with the issue, there was broad bipartisan support. ���As long as that consensus is there across the political spectrum in the US, then whenever it comes up before the US Congress, we feel there is a good chance that political bipartisan will continue,��� Mr Saran said.
Special envoy on the nuclear deal Shyam Saran expressed the government���s desire to conclude the deal in the lifetime of the current US administration rather then leave it for the next administration. ``Obviously, the sooner we have the deal, the better. As the process continues, the world is not standing still. The level of political uncertainty will increase. Therefore, it is in our interest to get it through sooner than later,������ said Mr Saran.
With the Left refusing to let the government move ahead on the nuclear deal, the government cannot hope to get the deal moving. In this scenario, Mr Saran, while acknowledging that there are ``certain political realities on the ground������ in India and also in the US, could only express the government���s commitment to the nuclear deal.
Without the Left parties approval the government cannot finalise the safeguards agreement with IAEA. Even though the negotiations between IAEA and India are over and the shape of the safeguards agreement is more or less finalised, the Nuclear Suppliers Group will only vote on a waiver for India after the safeguards agreement is initiated. This was confirmed by Mr Saran who said that the waiver issue would not figure on the agenda of the upcoming NSG meeting. ``The NSG has given us to understand that it will not put it formally on the agenda,������ Mr Saran said.
Further the US Congress will only vote once IAEA and NSG steps are completed. Talking about the post-election scenario in the US, Mr Saran said that ���the encouraging aspect������ is that when the last time the US Congress dealt with the issue, there was broad bipartisan support. ���As long as that consensus is there across the political spectrum in the US, then whenever it comes up before the US Congress, we feel there is a good chance that political bipartisan will continue,��� Mr Saran said.
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