10-27-2005, 09:11 PM
http://www.deccan.com/home/homedetails.asp...and%20on%20Iran
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->India shifts stand on Iran
New Delhi, Oct. 27: India will now work with China and Russia, as well as the European Union, to reach a âmutually acceptable solutionâ on Iran before the November meeting of the IAEA board of governors in Vienna. Under domestic flak for voting in favour of the EU 3 resolution at the last meeting, the government has stated that it would like to avoid any reference of Iran to the UN Security Council, and would try to ensure that the issue is settled âamicablyâ within the IAEA itself.
Judging from reports in the Russian and Iranian press, external affairs minister Natwar Singh has had a highly successful visit to Moscow where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting. He held a half-hour bilateral meeting with Iranian vice-president Perviz Davoodi after which the MEA spokesperson here announced that India would work actively with Russia, China and the European Union to reach a mutually acceptable solution for Iran when the IAEA board of governors meets again in Vienna.
The slight shift in position comes on the eve of the national campaign being launched by the Left Front and regional parties against the governmentâs decision to vote for the EU 3 resolution at the last IAEA meeting. The Left parties submitted a note at the UPA-Left coordination committee meeting on Thursday urging India to abstain if it finds consensus to be lacking. The Left parties have demanded that if the issue comes up for voting on November 24, India should insist that the issue is resolved through negotiations, that Iran has the right to have a peaceful nuclear programme, that it must abide by its treaty obligations, and that possibilities exist for settling the issue within the IAEA.
Russia and China both abstained from voting on the EU 3 resolution. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been working actively to bring Iran to the negotiating table with the European Union even while he supports its sovereign right to develop nuclear power. Russia has succeeded in persuading Iran to recycle spent nuclear fuel back to it to ensure that supply and usage are strictly monitored. This is to offset US claims that the spent nuclear fuel is being diverted by Tehran for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. Moscow has refused to back off from the Bushehr nuclear plant it is setting up in Iran.
Mr Natwar Singh has also taken the strategic alliance between Russia, the US and India forward during this visit to Moscow. A meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries will be held in New Delhi next March. This announcement comes at a time when South Block officials were quietly hinting at the demise of this particular Russian initiative, particularly after Prime Minister Manmohan Singhâs highly successful visit to the US.
The emerging alliance has been taken very seriously by Washington with media reports suggesting unhappiness with the initiative. The decision to work with China and Russia is clearly a move to counter the criticism that New Delhi was under pressure from the US to take a position against Iran.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->India shifts stand on Iran
New Delhi, Oct. 27: India will now work with China and Russia, as well as the European Union, to reach a âmutually acceptable solutionâ on Iran before the November meeting of the IAEA board of governors in Vienna. Under domestic flak for voting in favour of the EU 3 resolution at the last meeting, the government has stated that it would like to avoid any reference of Iran to the UN Security Council, and would try to ensure that the issue is settled âamicablyâ within the IAEA itself.
Judging from reports in the Russian and Iranian press, external affairs minister Natwar Singh has had a highly successful visit to Moscow where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting. He held a half-hour bilateral meeting with Iranian vice-president Perviz Davoodi after which the MEA spokesperson here announced that India would work actively with Russia, China and the European Union to reach a mutually acceptable solution for Iran when the IAEA board of governors meets again in Vienna.
The slight shift in position comes on the eve of the national campaign being launched by the Left Front and regional parties against the governmentâs decision to vote for the EU 3 resolution at the last IAEA meeting. The Left parties submitted a note at the UPA-Left coordination committee meeting on Thursday urging India to abstain if it finds consensus to be lacking. The Left parties have demanded that if the issue comes up for voting on November 24, India should insist that the issue is resolved through negotiations, that Iran has the right to have a peaceful nuclear programme, that it must abide by its treaty obligations, and that possibilities exist for settling the issue within the IAEA.
Russia and China both abstained from voting on the EU 3 resolution. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been working actively to bring Iran to the negotiating table with the European Union even while he supports its sovereign right to develop nuclear power. Russia has succeeded in persuading Iran to recycle spent nuclear fuel back to it to ensure that supply and usage are strictly monitored. This is to offset US claims that the spent nuclear fuel is being diverted by Tehran for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. Moscow has refused to back off from the Bushehr nuclear plant it is setting up in Iran.
Mr Natwar Singh has also taken the strategic alliance between Russia, the US and India forward during this visit to Moscow. A meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries will be held in New Delhi next March. This announcement comes at a time when South Block officials were quietly hinting at the demise of this particular Russian initiative, particularly after Prime Minister Manmohan Singhâs highly successful visit to the US.
The emerging alliance has been taken very seriously by Washington with media reports suggesting unhappiness with the initiative. The decision to work with China and Russia is clearly a move to counter the criticism that New Delhi was under pressure from the US to take a position against Iran.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->