IAEA will discuss Indo-US nuclear deal this month
Dated 10/3/2006
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Though Russia is yet to announce its position on the Indo-US nuclear deal, a crucial IAEA board meeting of NSG members around 20 March is likely to recognise the deal and move for fast track approval of it.
But it may take awhile to decide whether India will be eligible to receive civilian nuclear technologies and related supplies for meeting its energy needs.
Meanwhile, after prime minister Manmohan Singh spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Russia will announce its position during the Russian PM, Mikhail Fradkov's visit to India in the middle of this month.
The Russian PM's visit will take place around the time of the NSG meeting to convey a right signal that the deal is acceptable to Russia and must be quickly approved.
Diplomats said formal NSG approval for India might take some time, even though it has the strong backing of the United States, Russia, France, Germany, Japan and other countries.
Officials and diplomats said it is simply not a resolution to be drafted in a week, but a crucial decision that would determine the future of the non-proliferation regime.
They said India could be a special case, but formalities had to be completed, and apprehensions had to be allayed that more countries would not qualify for similar exemptions.
