Australian diplomat slams Indo-US N-deal

NEW YORK (Agencies) - Australias non-proliferation envoy Gareth Evans has slammed the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal, saying it was a major hurdle in the goal of a nuclear-free world.
Everybody knows that from Indias point of view it was a brilliant success but from the point of view of non-proliferation objectives it was not as helpful as it could have been, Evans told journalists here.
Evans, who is the co-chair of International Commission for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament - a joint initiative of the governments of Japan and Australia, was speaking after presenting a report called 'Eliminating Nuclear Threats: A Practical Agenda for Global Policymakers.
One of the contributors for the report is former National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra.
Evans noted that the main fault with the Indo-US nuclear deal was that the commitments made by the Indian governments were insufficient and set a bad precedent.
It was a very bad deal from the point of view of non-proliferation and the kinds of principles that most of us are committed to simply because it did not demand enough of the Indian government in terms of issues such as non-production of fissile material or even non resumption of testing, he said.
Noting that Indias past behaviour in terms of non-proliferation had been excellent, Evans said similar deals should have much more stringent future commitments criterion in order to get uranium or cooperation on nuclear technology. However, Evans noted that the good side of the deal was that India had come under a kind of check under the arrangement even though it remained outside the NPT regime.
The extent to which the deal involved India inspections of civil facilities and so on in a way that had not previously been the case that does show that there is a way forward in terms of parallel process to which you can get people signed up to these commitments without actually joining the NPT, he said.
The senior Australian politician underlined that report issued by commission recognised that the nuclear non-proliferation regime would have to deal with present-day realties if it wanted to succeed in the long-run.
We do have to recognise the reality of those three elephants outside the room, India, Pakistan and Israel and not just be in denial about that reality and try and find constructive ways forward and brining them within these disciplines, he said.
Evans underlined that the Indo-US nuclear deal should not be considered an obstacle in pursuing negotiations for nuclear-non-proliferation.
I hope that this issue does not spoil in anyway the effective negotiations of sensible outcomes at the NPT review conference, he said.
The NPT review conference, to be held in May, will examine the state of the NPT in terms of non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful use of nuclear energy.