Washington imposes sanctions for supplying chemicals to Iran; 'we didn't break any law', Indian companies tell US

New Delhi

29 December 2005

The two Indian companies sanctioned by the United

States Government for supplying chemicals to Iran say the shipments

were as per Indian law and the guidelines under the Chemical Weapons

Convention were complied with.

The vice chairman of Mumbai-based Sabero Organics Gujarat Limited, Mr

Mohit Chuganee, said the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of

Chemicals and Fertilisers had found no discrepancy in the business

transaction.

Mr Smit repeat Smit Patel of Sandhya Organic Chemical Private Limited,

in turn, said he was surprised to learn about the imposition of the

sanctions despite adhering to all India laws and the relevant international

guidelines.

Mr Patel would not take more questions and chose to conclude his

remarks by stating that the supply of chemicals were not without the

approval of the government agencies concerned. However, Mr Chuganee

was more forthcoming.

"There had been extensive contacts with the Ministry of External Affairs

and the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers before and after the one-

time shipment of 90 tons of trimethyl phosphite two years ago," Mr

Chuganee told this newspaper.

Mr Chuganee, however, acknowledged that the government did suggest

sometime ago that while the shipment was as per rules, politically it

would better if the business transaction was terminated and further

shipment discontinued with.

He said trimethyl phosphite was a dual-use chemical notified under the

Schedule Three of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Some 150

countries are signatories to the Convention including India, Iran and the

United States.

"We were in touch with both the director general of foreign trade (DGFT)

and the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals under the Ministry

of Chemicals and Fertilisers, which is the nodal agency designated under

the Chemical Weapons Convention," he said.

He said the Iranian company called Raja Shimi wanted to buy more

quanities of the chemical but he chose not to process the request. "The

[decision to exercise the] option was ours," he said, who is business for

the past decade.

Washington, meanwhile, maintained that the sanctions were based on

"credible evidence". State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli

said "[the sanctions are] an important and effective tool in constraining

Iran's efforts to develop missile and weapons of mass destruction

capabilities."

Alleged supply of chemicals to Iran: India tells US that sanctions on Indian firms not justified

New Delhi

28 December 2005

Amid the negotiations with the United States on the

civil nuclear deal, India on Wednesday termed as unjustified the reports

about imposition of sanctions by the Bush administration on two Indian

companies for allegedly selling chemical materials to Iran.

The spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr Navtej Sarna, told

reporters that it was New Delhi's view that the two companies named had

not acted in violation of Indian laws or regulations.

A US media report on Tuesday said that the two Indian chemical

companies -- Sabero Organics Gujarat Limited and Sandhya Organics

Limited -- along with Chinese and Austrian firms will soon be sanctioned

by US President George Bush's administration under the US Iran

Proliferation Act, 2000, for allegedly selling missile goods and chemical

arms materials to Iran.

The spokesman said that the "imposition of sanctions by the US on our

firms, which in our view have not acted in violation of our laws or

regulations, is not jusified." "The Government," he said, "also reiterates

that sactions against Dr YSR Prasad should be removed."

He said the sanctions related to the transfer of some chemicals to Iran.

"Our preliminary assessment is that the transfer of such chemicals is not

in violation of our regulations or our international obligations," he said.

The spokesman observed that the government's commitment to prevent

onward proliferation was second to none and that it has instituted a

rigorous system of export controls. "Our track record in this regard is well

known. India is working with international community including with the

US as a partner against proliferation," he said.

The spokesman said the government has also seen the reports about the

removal of sanctions on Dr C Surendar by the US Government. "The

removal of sanctions on Dr C Surendar vindicates Government's position

on this matter. Since the imposition of sanctions in September 2004,

Government has maintained that this had no justification. Accordingly, we

had urged the US Government to review the issue and withdraw the

sanctions," he said.

Russia wants India in "united front" against terrorism

Moscow

27 December 2005

Making a distinction from the the war on terror

unleashed by the United States, Russia has called for creating a "new

united front" to combat terrorists "irrespective of their motives".

"No one country can fight terrorism, [so] a new united front for fighting

against terrorists must be created," the deputy minister in the Russian

foreign ministry, Mr Alexander Alekseyev, told this newspaper.

Observing that Osama bin Laden was still alive, he said India and Russia

recognised the need to "intensify interaction in opposing new challenges

and threats to international peace in both bilateral and multilateral

formats".

Echoing similar sentiments, the Russian military establishment

appreciated New Delhi's "attitude" to terrorism and said that both

countries were united in combating the threats emanating from Chechnya

and Jammu and Kashmir alike.

"We know what happens in Jammu and Kashmir, [it is] similar to the

terrorist threats from the Caucuses," a top military official observed. He

said there was a convergence of opinion on meeting the challenges

posed by terrorism.

Dwelling on the "possibility of appearance of new threats," Mr Alekseyev

said terrorism has acquired an international dimension and cited the

presence of "terrorists with foreign passports" in Chechnya to underline

Moscow's concerns.

He said India and Russia have "reaffirmed their strong commitment to

strengthening their [ties] and expressed their firm conviction that their

strategic partnership plays a role of an important stability factor in the

international affairs."

"Osama [bin Laden] is still alive and under his orders, terrorist acts [are

carried out] across the world," he said. "Terrorists do not have

nationalities, they do not obey national borders," he added for good

measure.

Sources said the call for a united front against terrorism flows from

concerns over reports the US freed bandits after capturing them in

Afghanistan, which posed threats to countries in the region.

Russia's lower House of Parliament recently approved a Bill that imposes

strict curbs on NGOs. The Kremlin's publicly stated rationale for the new

law is to combat money-laundering for the war on terrorism.

Russia ticks off US on Iran; cautions Washington against provoking Tehran

Moscow

26 December 2005

As the European Union's nuclear negotiations

with Iran remain delicately poised, a top Russian official has cautioned

the United States against precipitating an avoidable crisis and urged

Washington to refrain from making provocative statements.

"If the US [continues its] provocation against Iran, there is no prediction

which way [Iran] will go," a top Russian official told this newspaper. On

Russia's position, he said, "We have told Iran not to go beyond the limits

of energy purposes and the supply of nuclear fuel".

The remarks flow from concerns about the likelihood of a situation

developing in Russia's proximity that was "not in favour of Moscow".

There is also a perception that if Iran goes nuclear, it will pose a "real

threat" to Russia more than the US.

Concerns have also been expressed by certain quarters about a

breakdown in the talks and a showdown early next year when the board of

governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) holds a

regular meeting in Vienna.

The EU and the US are backing the Russian proposal that would allow

Iran to enrich uranium on Russian territory. Doing so would prevent

Tehran from diverting enriched uranium towards its nuclear weapons

programme.

Tehran on Sunday rejected Moscow's offer to process uranium for Iran on

Russian soil. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia had on Saturday

said that its proposal to facilitate "on Russian soil a joint Russo-Iranian

undertaking to enrich uranium still stands".

Iran, which resumed discussions with the EU negotiators -- Britain, France

and Germany -- last week, insisted on its right to produce enriched

uranium while maintaining that it was keen only on meeting its energy

requirements. The next round of talks are expected on January 18.

Russia and China abstained from voting in the September 24 meeting of

the IAEA. Their decision blocked the moves to refer Iran to the United

Nations Security Council. Both Russia and China also have veto powers

as permanent members of the Security Council.

Russia wants to ease visa rules, attract Indians

Moscow

25 December 2005

Russia says liberalising its visa regime will be a

major point on its agenda with India in the coming year. It hopes to settle

all outstanding issues concerning "immigration" and "readmission" and

conclude an agreement.

"We are interested in relaxing the visa rules [and] we have sent

instructions to our Russian envoy [in India] to keep this in mind," the

deputy minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Mr Alexander

Alekseyev, told this newspaper.

The move follows persistent demands by Indian businessmen and

industry alike for easing the visa regulations in order to give a much-

needed fillip to the Indo-Russian bilateral trade and also boost Indian

investments in Russia.

Concerns had also been expressed after India came to be associated with

countries of potential immigrants who made their way into Europe via

Russia. Mr Alekseyev, however, clarified that Russia should not repeat

not be blamed.

"We are in talks with the European Union [but] it is a complicated issue,"

he observed and referred to the predominant "anti-terrorist" sentiments

among certain EU members and the concerns expressed by them

particularly post-9/11.

Referring to the less than two billion-dollar bilateral trade turnover, Prof

Felix Yurlov of the Centre for Indian Studies at the Institute of Oriental

Studies in Moscow felt that India or Russia "cannot be satisfied with this

state of affairs."

Prof Yurlov said both countries should plan to touch the eight billion-

dollar mark in bilateral trade in the next three or four years. He also

suggested that "governments must encourage businessmen" to

strengthen the trade ties.

"Over 70 per cent of Russian conomy is in private hands, therefore

cooperation of private sector is important. Rules have changed," he

observed and called for raising the bilateral trade "quickly" in military and

civil spheres alike.

India and Russia, Deputy Minister Alekseyev said, "have decided to

intensify efforts to ensure further develoment and diversification of trade

and economic cooperation, and to bring it to a qualitatively new level."

Paying special attention to the promotion of investments, he said a liberal

visa regime would help to support the "comprehensive expansion of

mutually beneficial contacts between business communities of the two

countries."

"We will continue [the] political contacts at different levels and advance

the pace of exchange of opinion in all field of cooperation," he said,

referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Russia.