The US hase given India a blunt ultimatum. Will India buckle under pressure again?
**US warns India over Iran stance **
Washington has warned India a landmark deal giving it US nuclear technology may fall through if Delhi does not back a UN motion against Iran. The deal could “die in Congress” if India does not vote against Iran at a meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, US Ambassador David Mulford said. The US is pursuing action against Iran over its apparent nuclear ambitions. India says it rejects any attempt to tie its stance on Iran to its deal with the US on acquiring nuclear know-how.
‘Test of credibility’
Washington agreed last year to share advanced civilian nuclear technology with Delhi, lifting sanctions triggered by India’s nuclear tests in 1998. The deal was struck by President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but must be approved by the US Congress in order to be implemented. US Ambassador to India David Mulford said the US is keen to have India’s support when UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, meets to discuss Iran. “India has arrived on the world stage and is a very, very important player in the world,” he told the Press Trust of India. **“And if it opposes Iran having nuclear weapons, we think they should record it in the vote.” India’s failure to do so, he said, would have a “devastating” effect on US Congress members who have yet to approve the nuclear deal. Mr Bush and Mr Singh agreed the nuclear deal in 2005 . "I think the Congress will simply stop considering the matter. I think the initiative will die in the Congress - not because the US administration would want it to. “This should be part of the calculations India will have to keep in mind.” **Mr Mulford also said the US had doubts about Indian assurances on the clear separation of its civilian and military nuclear programmes - a key condition of the technology-sharing deal agreed last year. Ideas set out by India did not meet the “test of credibility”, Mr Mulford is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying. Negotiations on the issue must be completed by the time President Bush visits the country in March, he said.
Iran sanctions threat
Responding to the US ambassador’s remarks, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said his country’s agreement with the US on “civil nuclear energy co-operation… stands on its own merits”. The stance Delhi adopts towards Iran before the UN nuclear watchdog would be determined by its “own independent judgement”, Mr Sarna said. The IAEA meets next week to discuss referring Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions. Several Western nations accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains its nuclear programme has a purely civilian purpose.
*India has summoned the US ambassador to Delhi after comments he made over India’s relations with Iran.
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He was told his comments were “inappropriate and not conducive” to US-India relations, India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Mr Mulford earlier said his remarks were taken out of context.*
wow! a master-slave relationship? I'll accept that if you answer these questions of mine.
Reza and mo293, can you please answer them?
Whats the name of a relationship in which one country uses(for the lack of a better word) another country to wage war against it's own neighbor (read "Afghanistan" if you have not figured it out already)?
what's the name of a relationship (major non-NATO ally???) in which one country uses another country's troops to wage war against it's own people and on top of that bombards it's own territory and then major NNA's PM goes on pleading to stop these attacks.
Queero, I thought you were smart enough to understand that “in situations like these” was left out from my original remark. In reality, what else could India have done? Nothing …and calling the ambassdor equates to nothing. It does not accomplish anything. It is a standard practise for a meek protest …just to show the public that we did something.
What does Bush have to do with it? Can you stay on the topic.
By Iftikhar Gilani
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AFP adds: Meanwhile, Washington on Wednesday moved to unlink the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal with how New Delhi votes on the Iranian nuclear question. “Well, we deal with the Indian government on these two issues as separate issues,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. “Certainly, they come up in the same conversations, I’ll tell you that,” he said. McCormack said Washington encouraged the India to vote for Iran’s referral to the UN, but “ultimately, that is going to be their decision”.
I am desperately waiting for Reza and mo293 and now lussi to answer my questions while they are busy posting on other threads.
Bhai logon, maa ka doodh piya ho to aa jaao maidaan me and answer de do ;).
Queero, lets see, you are quick to side step the actual issue. You were questioning if that is a standard practise...when I answered your question, you come back with childish humor regarding party politics...
We will see when the time comes...if India changes its vote or not. I know that US will not back out of the nuclear deal .....US needs India in the long run.
Bharat summoned the ambassador. It’s quite obvious USA is afraid of the the biggest democracy in the world. USA is desperate to reach a deal with Bharat. No? No doubt, Bharatis are a deluded lot. :chusni:
** **Difference in protests
Regarding the launching of protests on serious matters with the respective ambassadors of the solo superpower, a marked difference in the force and effectiveness has been noticed between India and Pakistan. India called the US ambassador to explain his statement that the Indo-US nuclear agreement would stand cancelled if India didn't vote against Iran's nuclear programme during the IAEA meeting (Feb 2006). The ambassador apologised.
In contrast, Pakistan called the US ambassador to explain the US attack on Damadola (Bajaur Agency). Nothing was heard of it thereafter; probably the protest was rejected. This is because some US senators have threatened to continue such attacks disregarding Pak borders. India has ensured her sovereignty while Pakistan has let it be dented once again as many times in the past. Clearly, we are no longer an independent state.
Sardar M Bashir Khan
Rawalpindi
Indian government’s communist allies have demanded PM Singh ask Washington to recall ambassador David Mulford, reports the Hindu newspaper; leftist parties, opposition BJP unhappy with Mulford’s comment last week that if India didn’t vote to refer Tehran to U.N. Security Council, “the effect on members of the U.S. Congress…will be devastating.” “We are not slaves to any Roman or American empire and it is time the government takes it up (with Washington) and tells the US ambassador to mend his ways or have him recalled,” paper quotes CPI national secretary D. Raja. PM Singh may try to pacify allies on grounds that India won’t buckle under any pressure on Iran vote.
India has not expelled the US ambassador, so the governing allied parties must be correct. India has become an American slave.
It’s quite obvious USA is afraid of the the biggest democracy in the world. 