New Delhi
10 April 2008
India welcomes President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to reduce
France's stockpile of nuclear warheads but it is time all the nuclear weapon states
became engaged in multilateral negotiations for the early elimination of nuclear
weapons, according to Mr Shyam Saran, the Prime Minister's special envoy for the India-
United States nuclear deal and climate change.
"The time has come for all of us, all the nuclear weapon states, to engage in multilateral
negotiations for the early elimination of nuclear weapons ... because there is a new
dimension, which is the link between terrorism and the weapons of mass destruction and
that kind of a link, unless we address that, we may find ourselves target of terrorists
attacks using weapons of mass destruction," he said in an exclusive interview to this
newspaper.
Mr Saran insisted India's interest in nuclear disarmament has not vanished or
evaporated after she became a declared nuclear weapons state in 1998. "It remains our
view that India's security will be further enhanced, not diminished, if there is a world
entirely free of nuclear weapons. So if we were able to achieve nuclear disarmament say
in the next 10 years, this will not diminish our national security. It will in fact enhance it.
Therefore, in those terms, it is worthwhile for India to continue to press for nuclear
disarmament," he said.
He said the Government wants to keep this matter on the international agenda and it has
accordingly produced about six different documents at the Conference on Disarmament
in Geneva. The documents dealt with the non-first-use of nuclear weapons, a convention
on the non-use of nuclear weapons, negotiation of a multilateral convention on nuclear
weapons, among others.
"A whole series of initiatives have been put forward precisely in order to convince the
international community that even though India is a nuclear weapon state, our interest in
nuclear disarmament is not diminished," he elaborated.
He welcomed President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to reduce France's stockpile of
nuclear warheads. "Any reduction of nuclear weapons by the existing nuclear weapon
states of course is welcome but one must understand that there is a big gap between the
very limited number of weapons and delivery systems that we have and which other
established nuclear weapon states have. So we welcome whatever decisions that might
be taken by France or the United States or Russia to reduce their nuclear weapons," he
said.
Mr Saran, a former foreign secretary, said Australia has since clarified its position on
selling uranium to India will be under review. "Australia has said that this is something
which will be under review. So this is not a static situation," he said in the interview.
"Why is there an impression that if Australia is not in a position to supply nuclear fuel
therefore India does not have any nuclear fuel. Merely because Australia has indicated it
may not be in a position to uranium fuel does not mean the international market for
uranium fuel is gong to close down for India. That is simply not correct," he added.
He said Australia is not the only supplier of uranium fuel and India can source uranium
from wherever she can after the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) adjusts its guidelines to
integrate India in the global nuclear commerce.
"Once the international market opens you can source uranium from wherever you can,
because the international market no longer prohibits the supply of uranium fuel to India,"
he said.
"As far as I am aware no other country has said anything about following Australia's
example," he said in response to another question on whether Australia's decision not to
sell uranium to India will affect the attitude of the other NSG members toward India.
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