A three-hour discussion on India’s membership saw “procedural hurdles persistently raised by one country”, he said.
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Eventually, though, say diplomats, between China’s attempts to block any discussion, countries like Brazil and Turkey calling for a “criteria-based” process to be put in place first, and others like Austria, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland raising the NPT question, India’s chances were scuttled.
India blamed China for the diplomatic fiasco that came a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a 45-minute meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi targeted PM Narendra Modi over India’s failed NSG bid.
China has maintained its opposition to India’s NSG membership bid on the grounds that it is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
In a statement issued by the NSG, the grouping said discussions on the issue of “Technical, Legal and Political Aspects of the Participation of non-NPT States in the NSG” was held and chose to continue it.
“It has been suggested that India’s participation in the NSG requires it to join the NPT. There is thus no contradiction between the NPT and India’s closer engagement with the NSG”, said Vikas Swarup, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs.
Sharma said NSG had given India-specific waiver in 2008 which allowed India’s integration with the nuclear mainstream after decades of isolation.
The NSG was founded in response to India’s 1974 nuclear test and it has worked for decades to prevent the sharing of technology that could contribute to the further spread of nuclear weapons, he said on Friday.
Refusing to divulge the discussions and opposition to India’s membership within the 48-member grouping, the official said details of the internal deliberations are confidential.
“I am thankful to the President for Switzerland’s understanding and support for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. But we understand from our friends and well-wishers that discussions on expansion of membership, or what is called “Participation” in NSG, were certainly not hypothetical”, he said. He added that India-specific IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) agreement allowed India to also trade with NSG countries.
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Senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Prakash Karat said membership of NSG was not of substantial benefit to India.
