Monday, 27 August, 2007

ABC News Online

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says he does not think that sending Australian uranium to India would free up that country's other resources for weapons development.

The former United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix says he supports Australian uranium exports to India, but only for energy production.

Dr Blix fears it would allow India's other reserves to be used for nuclear weapons and says safeguards would be needed against that risk.

Mr Downer says the same argument could be advanced for other countries Australia exports to.

"If the argument is we shouldn't export uranium to any country that has nuclear weapons, I don't think that's right," he said.

"I think they'd have nuclear weapons anyway whether we exported uranium or not."

Mr Downer says for years Australia has been exporting uranium to the United States, France and United Kingdom, all of which have nuclear weapons.

"And we more recently have been exporting uranium to China and of course you can make that same argument that these countries would have the same capacity then to free up uranium for nuclear weapons," he said.