New nuclear trade rules not end of road, says Rao

With major countries like Russia, France and the US committing the transfer of enrichment reprocessing technology, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said the strengthening of guidelines by the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) is not "the end of the road" for India.

With major countries like Russia, France and the US committing the transfer of enrichment reprocessing technology, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said the strengthening of guidelines by the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) is not "the end of the road" for India.

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Rao also called for ending the "strategic links" between Pakistan military and terrorist outfits in Karan Thaper's Devil's Advocate programme.

Rao said the NSG decision on the transfer of sensitive technology needed to be studied before drawing any conclusion.

"The guidelines have not been published in open text as yet. We need to study that fully and we need to draw our conclusions from that," Rao said.

"Look at the statements that have come from, France and Russia and the US post the NSG decision," she added.

When asked about the former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar terming the new NSG guidelines as ‘betrayal', she said she would not use similar terminology. "As a professional engaged in this process, I think the latest NSG decision is… not set in stone," Rao said.

The NSG had last week decided to push for more stringent norms that govern technology transfer for enrichment and reprocessing technology. This decision has raised concerns about its impact on the landmark civil nuclear deal India signed with the US.

Striking a tough posture, Rao said the strategic link between the Pakistani state and terror needed to be broken. "It is not just the aim of India ... it applies to the whole world. The strategic link between the Pakistani state and militancy and terror needs to be broken," she said.