Nuke deal delicately balanced: Saran
by Priscilla Huff

     Washington: Emphasizing the delicate nature of the landmark July 18, 2005 civilian nuclear deal between India and the United States, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told reporters on Friday that there would be a "loss in terms of expectations" if the pact was not approved by the U.S. Congress. "What has emerged out of these negotiations is a very very delicate balance. We have been through extraordinary complex and difficult negotiations. Therefore, I would have very strong hopes that that balance is not disturbed. If you start making revisions and changes, that balance is likely to be upset," Saran told reporters at the Indian Embassy here while in the process of wrapping up his three-day visit to the American capital.

     Saran said that he did not see the nuclear deal as being the be all and end all of Indo-U.S. bilateral ties, but rather saw it as a part and parcel of a relationship that aimed to gain in strength both in the short and long-term. "The Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement should be seen as part and parcel of a much larger relationship which, as you see, has developed between the two countries, it should not be taken out in isolation. So, I am encouraged by the fact that there is such strong support on both sides for developing this relationship and I see no reason why only the civilian nuclear deal should be a casualty in terms of partisan politics," Saran said. "Considering the fact that so much time and energy has been spent in reaching this point, I think that should be appreciated and the concerns which have been expressed in the Congress, if those concerns are successfully met and answered, I think the deal should go ahead as it is," he remarked in response to a question. Saran maintained that India would like to see the deal approved by the U.S. Congress as quickly as possible, adding there was "indeed wide support on Capitol Hill for the evolving bilateral relations" and that its culmination straddled both Republican and Democratic administrations. "Yesterday, I spent most of the time on the Hill, and met a number of Congressmen. These meetings were extremely useful. There were some general concerns expressed, but nobody mentioned to me that they were contemplating any amendments or they were contemplating any improvements, and yet they did say that this is something that is important and requires debate and which I conceded immediately, because I think in democracies, there should be debate," Saran told reporters.

    The Foreign Secretary also said that it would be in Washington's interest to work out its combinations and permutations on the civilian nuclear deal as quickly as possible. "Obviously, we would like this to be done as quickly as possible. But I have no means of knowing how the political processes here will work themselves out so let us remain optimistic and hope this is worked out as early as possible," he said "Obviously, if it does not go through, there will be a loss in terms of the expectations which have been built up, the kind of enthusiasm which has been built up, there will be a loss, we should be cognizant of this," he added. "There is, across the political spectrum here, there is strong support for the India-U.S. partnership. And even in regards to the India-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation partnership, I also pointed out to some of my interlocutors, that this is not something which had been sort of pulled out like a rabbit out of a hat, that this is really the culmination of a process that has straddled both Democratic and Republican administrations," Saran said. "The most important thing is that we believe that we have very satisfactory answers to the questions that have been raised or to the concerns that have been expressed. So after these meetings, I feel quite encouraged that once this agreement goes through, the crucible of debate and discussion, actually will emerge as much stronger support for this initiative," he told reporters in conclusion.

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