Russia keen to expand nuke activity with India

By Indo-asian news service, Chandigarh
7 October 2006, 18:00 PM
Russia, an influential member of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), has said it is keen to expand civilian nuclear cooperation with India, but underlined that issues regarding the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the NSG regime needed to be resolved to accelerate the process.

"We are keen to expand our activity in the nuclear sector with India. The enhancement of bilateral peaceful nuclear cooperation is also in the interest of our countries," Russian ambassador to India Vyacheslav I Trubnikov said at a seminar in Chandigarh.

"Russia is ready to interact in this sphere provided it will not violate Russia's existing international obligations," he said as he alluded to the Kudankulam nuclear power project being built in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu with Russian help.

"However, the concrete prospects and possibilities of such cooperation are closely geared to resolving the issues related to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the NSG regime," he said.