US recognises reality of nuclear India: Talbott

NEW DELHI, Jan 14: The United States recognises the reality of India becoming a nuclear weapons state, but will still pressure New Delhi over the issue of non-proliferation, says US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, reports AFP.

In an interview published in the Hindu newspaper Friday, Talbott said Washington "fully" recognised that only the Indian government "has the sovereign right to make decisions on what sort of weapons and force posture are necessary for the defence of India and Indian interests."

Talbott's remarks confirmed that Washington has given up any realistic hope of affecting a "roll-back" in New Delhi's nuclear policy following India's nuclear tests in May 1998.

Talbott is due to resume his long-running dialogue on nuclear and security-related issues with Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh in London next week.

"We wish that India would foreswear nuclear weapons... but we both realise this is not on in the foreseeable future," Talbott said.

The two-day meeting in London, beginning Monday, will mark the 10th round of Singh-Talbott talks since India's tests, which triggered a tit-for-tat response from Pakistan and sparked concerns of a South Asian arms race.

The discussions so far have produced little in the way of tangible progress, with India insisting on its right to decide its minimum nuclear deterrent and resisting US pressure to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

In The Hindu interview, Talbott stressed that it was possible for a state to subscribe to the CTBT, as well as a fissile material cut-off treaty "without giving up the ability to possess nuclear weapons and to have a credible deterrent."

However, he also conceded India's position that defence policy is by nature flexible, and that New Delhi could not be expected to quantify its minimum deterrent requirements -- something Washington had previously requested.

"What we are looking for is not 'fixity,' but more clarity that India's projected path is consistent with what Indian leaders have told us... (that) India does not seek an open-ended arms competition, but only the minimum necessary to ensure Indian security," Talbott said.

India published a draft "nuclear doctrine" in August last year which envisaged the development of a land, sea and air-based nuclear deterrent, although New Delhi insisted the document was merely consultative and not official government policy.

Talbott made it clear that Washington would keep up the pressure on India over non-proliferation and underlined the US position that the issue was larger than any bilateral relationship.

"Our approach to non-proliferation is global and we have obligations to our partners in the Nuclear Suppliers Group," Talbott said, explaining why the US scope for civilian nuclear cooperation with India was "extremeley limited."

The Indian government says it is still in the process of building a national consensus on the CTBT, while warning that many in India view the treaty as biased in favour of the five recognised nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

As well as security and non-proliferation issues, next week's talks in London are likely to focus on the question of terrorism, and particularly India's claims of Pakistani involvement in the recent hijacking of an Indian Airlines Airbus.