No question of signing NPT, CTBT : India

V S Chandrasekar

Pittsburgh/New York, Sep 25 (PTI) Sticking to its
position, India on Friday ruled out signing the Nuclear
Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT) in its present forms but made it clear that it
was committed to ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

The Indian stand was reaffirmed in the wake of the UN
Security Council resolution, spearheaded by President Barack
Obama, that asked all non-NPT signatories to join the treaty
as non-nuclear weapon states.

Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh’s Special Envoy
on climate change Shyam Saran told reporters in Pittsburgh
that India does not intend to be a party to the NPT as a
non-nuclear weapon state.

"We are committed to nuclear disarmament and at the
same time we are also committed to unilateral moratorium on
nuclear tests," he said on being asked whether India would
sign the treaty in the wake of the UNSC asking non-NPT states
to sign it.

In New York, External Affairs Minister of India S M
Krishna said India has taken a "principled" stand on CTBT and
there is no scope for change in its position unless a number
of other "developments" take place to address its concerns.

The high-level conference on disarmament, addressed by
UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon, asked India and eight other
countries to ratify the agreement so that it comes into force.
(MORE) PTI VSC
SDE


The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this
message are intended for the exclusive
use of the addressee(s) and may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged
information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please
notify the sender immediately and destroy
all copies of this message and any attachments contained in it.