27 September,2009 08:57 AM IST | | IANS
The United States has reassured India that it will move forward with their landmark civil nuclear deal, notwithstanding New Delhi's position that it will not sign the discriminatory Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conveyed this to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna as they met here on Friday to discuss the shape of their emerging strategic partnership, said Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake. The UN Security Council resolution this week urging all states to join the NPT did not come up at the Clinton-Krishna meeting, Blake said.
But "We've said before that the resolution that was passed on Thursday unanimously by the Security Council does not have any bearing on our bilateral civil nuclear cooperation," he said. The Indian parliament has also to approve liability legislation for US companies and announce formally the two reactor parks that will be set aside for US companies, Blake said.
At his post G20 Summit press conference in Pittsburgh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too said that the US has assured India of its full commitment to their civil nuclear deal and that the UN Security Council resolution on NPT is not targeted at New Delhi.
