Govt, Left seek to buy more time on N-deal

Govt, Left seek to buy more time on N-deal

Agencies

New Delhi, March 17: Apparently not in a mood to confront each other, Government and the Left parties on Monday decided to hold discussions next month on the draft India- specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA after the allies were briefed on the outcome of the negotiations in Vienna.
Meeting after a gap of three months, during which India held negotiations with the international nuclear watchdog, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee “presented” the “outcome” of the talks on the draft agreement to top Left leaders.

Left leaders said after the meeting that the government told them that the draft safeguards agreement addressed Indian concerns like safeguards and assurances of fuel supplies in perpetuity and the issue of strategic reserves.

They were also told by Mukherjee that the IAEA was also working on how to accommodate India, which is outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty regime but has a nuclear capability.

“The members of the Committee felt that further discussion was needed. It was decided to hold the next meeting in April, 2008,” Mukherjee, with CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury by his side, told reporters after the 90-minute meeting.

But a senior Left leader wondered how IAEA could guarantee fuel supplies because they are not fuel suppliers.

Left leaders said the impression they got was that the government did not seem to be in any tearing hurry to push ahead on the deal with the US.

At the last meeting on November 17, the Left parties had allowed the Government to hold negotiations with the IAEA on the safeguards agreement, but in between had been issuing threats of dire consequences if the Government went ahead with the deal.