NEW DELHI, 11 June 2007 — Though India still remains optimistic about the India-US civilian nuclear deal being finalized soon, it remains firm about its right to reprocess spent fuel. If the United States has any problems on this score, it should let that be confined to its own self and not “transfer” it to India, according to India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

“Reprocessing is absolutely necessary for us because we do not want to have a situation like the repetition of Tarapur. They say that they have some problems. We say do not transfer your problems to us,” Pranab said yesterday in an interview. India faced problems of disruption of fuel and disposal of spent fuel after Washington unilaterally discontinued fuel supply to the Tarapur atomic power plant in 1980. American companies had built the plant.

“What has been agreed in the joint statement of July 2005 and subsequently in March 2006 and what’s in our commitment to Parliament, they are already aware of it. Therefore within these parameters this 123 Agreement has to be signed,” Pranab asserted.

On whether India would be prepared to accept reprocessing rights on the same terms and conditions as the United States has granted to Japan, Switzerland and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), the minister said: “We will have to examine that in the context of our commitment to the Indian Parliament and the joint statement of July 2005 and the separation plan of 2006.”

Asked whether India would agree to designate specific plants for reprocessing and placing them under safeguards — a condition accepted by Japan, Switzerland and Euratom — Pranab replied in negative. “There are certain issues which we shall have to keep in mind. For instance, India is not a signatory to the NPT (nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty). The other countries, which you have referred to (Japan, Switzerland and Euratom), are signatories to the NPT. Therefore this arrangement will have to be India specific.”

The minister said that it would not be possible for India to accept reprocessing on the same terms and conditions that the US has granted China, where if permission is not given within six months Beijing acquires an automatic interim right of reprocessing. Replying to a question on this, Pranab said: “You are making a comparison between non-comparables. China is already a declared nuclear weapon state. I have already stated, it will have to be India specific in the context (of the fact) that India is not a signatory to the NPT.”

Despite serious differences over reprocessing, the minister expressed hope that the two countries would be able to “find some way out” to break the logjam and finalize the 123 pact that is to lead to resumption of their bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation.

Pranab’s comments follow the brief meeting President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on the sidelines of the G-8 summit in Germany on Friday. Expressing their commitment to seeing the deal through, both leaders said that the deal was “doable.”

However, some “tough negotiations” are needed to seal the deal, according to Manmohan. “I think some tough negotiations will be required before we can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he told reporters traveling back with him from Germany on Saturday. “There are some difficulties but I think both of us expressed determination to overcome them,” he said.

On whether the deal would be sealed by September, Manmohan replied: “Why September? Why not earlier?”