Rice
says US-Indian nuclear deal will strengthen security
AFP
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com
03 13 06
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rica on Monday urged Congress
to to amend atomic energylaw in order to implement a nuclear agreement
which President George W. Bush signed with India during his recent
visit there.
The deal, signed earlier this month, gives India access to long-denied
civilian nuclear technology in return for placing most of its
nuclear reactors under international inspection. It must be cleared
by the US Congress before it can be implemented.
The Bush administration has proposed to Congress that an India-specific
amendment be made to the US Atomic Energy Act, which currently
prohibits nuclear sales to states which are not signatories to
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
India has refused to sign the NPT and has developed nuclear weapons.
The deal, however, was met with sharp criticism in Congress. Democratic
Representative Edward Markey, co-chairman of the Bipartisan Task
Force on Nonproliferation, said the agreement undercuts the very
foundation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
But Rice, writing in The Washington Post newspaper, called the
agreement "historic."
"This agreement is a strategic achievement," she said.
"It will strengthen international security. It will enhance
energy security and environmental protection. It will foster economic
and technological development."
The secretary of state insisted the deal will also "help
transform the partnership between the world's oldest and the world's
largest democracy."
AFP
03 13 06
Copyright
© 2006 AFP. All rights reserved.
Send
this story to a friend
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write
to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels
| 
