India may not agree on test ban: Saran
By agencies   |   Tuesday, 23 May 2006, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: As Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and U.S Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns head to London for the 'last push' to the Indo-U.S civil nuclear deal’s passage through the U.S. Congress, senior Indian officials said in Delhi. There have been calls from the U.S establishment and senior French officials for India to commit itself to "peaceful, non-explosive" uses for the nuclear assistance it will receive, something New Delhi will not agree to in bilateral agreements either with the U.S or with France, with whom it signed a framework agreement during President Jacques Chirac's visit. There is a voluntary moratorium on testing and a commitment to enter into a "universal, non discriminatory" fissile materials cut-off treaty, and those remain, the official said, stressing the voluntary nature of the offer. Declining to specify whether the problem related to the fast breeder reactors being out of the civilian process or whether they sought more guarantees on a moratorium on fissile materials, an official privy to the talks said many countries were "dissatisfied with the Indian separation plan", and getting the deal through would be easier with "a more generous Indian approach".