US not to push India sign global nuclear treaties

I / Washington April 8, 2010, 17:21 IST

Appreciating its "responsible" behaviour, the US has said it will not push India to sign the NPT and the CTBT "for quite some time", but sought New Delhi's cooperation to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime.

Robert J Einhorn, Special US Advisor on Non Proliferation and Arms Control, said the Obama administration "appreciates and understands" India’s principled opposition to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) treaty.

"It's a long-standing attitude, it's a position of principle. What's especially important to us is that India behave in a responsible manner. And it has behaved in a responsible manner," he said.

"India's not going to join the NPT for quite some time, if at all. We understand that. But we want India to work with us in strengthening the nonproliferation regime," Einhorn told journalists yesterday.

India has refused to ink the NPT and CTBT saying they were "discriminatory" as it differentiates between the "have and the have-nots".  The top US official made it clear that the White House would not push India to sign Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) until it is ratified by the Senate.

"Once we have ratified (CTBT), we'll be in discussions with India about how to bring this important treaty into force," he underlined. "US and India have increasingly become partners in this area of dealing with the global proliferation threat, with the threat of nuclear terrorism," Einhorn said.

In terms of the CTBT, the administration will press hard for Senate ratification of the treaty, and "then we will work with other countries to bring it into force".

"Bringing it into force means that the US and India and Pakistan and China and a number of other countries must ratify it. And we will be in discussions with India (once it is ratified by the Senate)," Einhorn said.

Einhorn said countries that have not joined the NPT, and countries like China, which have joined the NPT, "we call on all countries, whether they've chosen to join the NPT or not, to work together to limit, to prevent, the threat of further nuclear proliferation".

James N Miller, Principal Deputy Secretary of Defense Policy, underlined the need to ensure that the regime does not unravel.

"Whether you're an NPT party or not, there's a common interest in ensuring that this regime does not unravel," he said. Miller said the nuclear non-proliferation regime is under considerable threat these days, especially because of the noncompliance of North Korea and Iran.