India in dilemma over 123 agreement

The Hindu
Sep 10, 2008

NEW DELHI: Forgotten amidst the euphoria over the Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver, the State Department letter revising key provisions of the 123 agreement continues to worry Indian officials who say it will be risky for the country to buy American nuclear equipment until this issue is sorted out. The letter, made public on September 2, shows the U.S. understanding of the 123 agreement is sharply at variance with India’s. Senior Indian officials told The Hindu that the State Department assertion limiting the circumstances under which fuel supply assurances would apply was tantamount to undoing an agreed text. The U.S. letter also questions the agreement’s provisions on fallback safeguards and reprocessing rights. Describing the letter’s claim that the Indian government agrees with these American understandings as a “blatant lie,” one official said India was formulating a response that would be communicated to Washington at the political level.