Nuclear deal signed by Russia and India
India and Russia are to sign a “pathbreaker” deal on nuclear cooperation when the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, meets the Russian President, Mr Dimitry Medvedev, in Moscow for summit-level talks on Monday.
The nuclear cooperation deal, top government sources say, will be even better than the 123 Agreement with the United States. New Delhi and Moscow have also reached a broad agreement on the aircraft-carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which has been held up because of pricing issues. However, the Gorshkov deal is not on the agenda of the Prime Minister’s current visit to Moscow.
The nuclear deal is an “extremely progressive document. It is going to be a pathbreaker. We have one sentence to sort out and we hope to do so this afternoon,” top government sources said on Sunday.
“It goes perhaps much further than the 123 Agreement (with the US). We’ve got some very forward-looking language on reprocessing. It means (nuclear) fuel supplies will not cease,” the sources said.
On the Gorshkov, sources said the wound appeared to have healed. They said there is a price tag that is now acceptable to both sides. It is learnt that a Russian government team is currently in New Delhi for talks on the aircraft-carrier issue.
Officials emphasised that the Prime Minister’s Moscow visit is of utmost importance and “invested with a great deal of significance for the country.”
DC
