IAEA members to question India on nuclear inspection agreement

Vienna - Member states of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the international nuclear export control group were to seek clarification of India's nuclear inspection agreement at a briefing with a senior Indian official on Friday. Members of the 35-nation IAEA Board of Governors are set to ask Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon questions about possible loopholes in the safeguards agreement with the IAEA. The agreement would allow the agency to monitor Indian civilian nuclear reactors. Board members say it is likely to be adopted at a meeting on August 1 but some governments are concerned about 'corrective measures' referred to in the text, which India may take if its nuclear fuel supply were interrupted, possibly after a nuclear weapons test. A European diplomat said this 'seems to allow India to terminate the agreement under certain conditions.' A Western diplomat said it could also mean that India could seek alternative means of getting nuclear fuel. The inspection agreement is part of its nuclear deal with the United States, under which New Delhi agreed to separate its nuclear energy sector from the nuclear weapons programme. In return, the US will provide nuclear fuel and technology for civilian power reactors. The Western diplomat also said that other provisions in the agreement give India too much discretion in deciding what facilities would be monitored and when the IAEA would start doing so. European Union members on the board have demanded another formal briefing by IAEA officials that will take place on August 25, as Friday's meeting is an informal event organized by India. One board member told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that although the agreement would go through on August 1, it was still not clear if it would be adopted unanimously. Members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the 45 nuclear exporting countries that define export control rules, were also to attend the briefing by Foreign Secretary Menon. After the IAEA Board green-lights the safeguards agreement, the NSG has to change its nuclear export control rules, as India is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Only then will the US Congress ratify the nuclear pact with India. 'The main problem is not safeguards. The safeguards agreement is the first step for the NSG to open exports to India,' a European official said.