US seeks to delink nuke deal from India-Pak-Iran gas trade
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, Aug 4, IRNA
India-Gas-US
The United States Friday sought to delink its nuclear deal with India from the move to import gas from Iran and voiced confidence that the agreement would be implemented by Washington in its "true spirit".
"Our nuclear deal is not dependent on that. India was taking a step in keeping with its own interest. We would not like to change that", US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Richard A Boucher, who arrived in Kolkata on a five-day visit, told a press conference, PTI report said here.
Stating that the US had deep respect for the Iranian people and their culture, Boucher said the Bush administration was, however, concerned over the behavior of the Iranian government which was "undermining" the Palestinian peace process.
"We know from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran has been developing nuclear weapons for the past two decades.
Therefore, it is not surprising that we have a problem with Iran. Even India has said that Iran should not acquire nuclear weapons," he said.
Earlier, speaking at the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Boucher expressed confidence that Indo-US nuclear deal would get the approval of the Senate and be implemented in its true spirit by President George Bush after Senate approval.
Although the Senate had expressed concerns about certain provisions, which envisaged US shipments of civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India for its nuclear installations that would be subject to inspections, he was hopeful the deal would be approved by it.
His remarks assume significance against the backdrop of India's concerns over certain changes proposed by the US Senate in the bilateral nuclear deal.
The US House of Representatives has already overwhelmingly voted for the deal.
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