Legalise India's n-status, says Russia

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, MAY 30. A senior Russian official has called for legalising the nuclear weapon status of India and Pakistan and to involve them in non- proliferation controls. The head of the International Cooperation Department of the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry, Mr. Mikhail Ryzhov, has described as ``unnatural'' the situation that emerged after the 1998 n-tests by India and Pakistan.

``India and Pakistan can no longer be considered non- nuclear weapon States, even though they still have this status under the Non-Proliferation Treaty,'' the Russian official told a news conference in Moscow. ``This situation is very unnatural and must be redressed.''

Mr. Ryzhov urged caution in extending the nuclear status to the two countries so that it would not look like a reward to them and an encouragement to other nations to join the nuclear arms race. He said it was up to politicians to decide when and how this can be done, but predicted some sort of solution would be found soon.

``If we want to involve India and Pakistan in the global system of export controls, we must think of a way to recognise their new status,'' the official said. ``Irrespective of what they do at the national level, everybody is interested that they abide by international restrictions on the transfer of military technologies and materials.''

Recognition of India's nuclear status would open the way to our wide-ranging cooperation with that country, the atomic energy official said. He refuted earlier reports that a recent easing of restrictions on Russian nuclear exports would enable Moscow to supply nuclear reactors to India.

Russia joined the nuclear suppliers' ban on exports to nuclear aspiring States in 1992, but Mr. Ryzhov said the ban did not apply to the ongoing contract for the supply of two 1000-MW light-water reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power station, initially negotiated in the 1980s. ``The deal will be carried through in full, including the construction of reactors, fuel supply and utilisation of spent fuel,'' Mr. Ryzhov said.

He said India was right to have opted in favour of nuclear energy, because it had no large reserves of oil or gas, while coal was too much of an ecological hazard and coal fields were situated too far from industrial centres.

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Section  : International
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