India Moving on Fast Track N-Pact with Russia and France

by Santosh Kumar Agarwal    September 18, 2008

In the wake of US Congress voting on 123 agreements with India, Manmohan Singh's government, as if to nudge USA, had speeded up working on nuclear pact with Russia and France. The move is timed to put pressure on US lawmakers for smooth passage of the Indo-US N-deal in the Congress later this month.

The Russian deal for four additional reactors to be installed at Kundankulam in Tamil Nadu was ready for signing during the Indian PM’s visit to Russia in November last year but was differed as India wanted a clearance from Nuclear Suppliers Group first. Russia and France whole-heartedly supported India’s case for an NSG waiver.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with Indian PM Singh, signed a memorandum of intent for four reactors from Russia, when he visited India in January’07. Two of these reactors, being manufactured by the Russian firm Atomstroyexport, are already nearing completion.

The Nuclear pact with Russia is likely to be inked during the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavroy’s visit to India beginning on the 20th of October this year.

On the other hand, the agreement with France is likely to be signed by the Indian Premier Singh when he visits France in the last week of September this year.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

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