Saturday, 20 October, 2007

by P. S. Suryanarayana
The Hindu

Australia has hinted it may consider withdrawing its offer of uranium sales to India if its civilian nuclear energy deal with the United States were to fall through.

In a televised comment, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the basis of the Australian offer to India was its “123 Agreement” with the U.S. That deal would have brought India’s civilian nuclear power plants under the safeguards regime of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). If this were not to happen now, Canberra would not be able to enter into a safeguards agreement with India for its import of Australian uranium for nuclear energy production in the civilian sector. Mr. Downer announced Australia’s offer soon after India finalised the “123 Agreement.” He later said Canberra’s insistence on safeguards would not go beyond the scope of the accord the IAEA might enter into with India on the basis of its deal with the U.S.

Mr. Downer’s latest comment reinforces the doubts over the proposed uranium deal in the context of the Opposition Labor Party’s reservations. If elected to power, Labor said, it would be averse to selling uranium to India because of its policy of not acceding to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.