US Official Asks India to Move Quickly to Seal Civilian Nuclear Deal
美官员促印度与美达成民用核协议
A senior American official has urged India to move quickly to wrap up a civilian nuclear deal with the United States. The request comes as India's prime minister says his government is trying to build a political consensus on the controversial agreement, which is strongly opposed by his communist allies.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher says the civilian nuclear deal between India and the United States faces a lot of "tight deadlines."
美国助理国务卿包润石说,印度与美国的这笔民用核交易面临着很多“紧迫的最后期限”。
Boucher spoke to reporters Wednesday in New Delhi, where he has met Indian officials.
包润石星期三在新德里发表以上讲话。他在新德里会晤了印度官员。
The deal will allow New Delhi to get access to civilian nuclear technology, even though it has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
如果双方达成协议,尽管印度没有签署核不扩散条约,也仍然可以获得民用核技术。
The pact still needs to get the final approval of the U.S. Congress. Before that happens, India has to conclude an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and obtain a waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Supplier Group, which regulates global civilian nuclear trade.
Boucher says all these steps need to be completed quickly so that the pact can be presented to the U.S. Congress by July, ahead of the American presidential elections.
包润石说,所有这些步骤都要迅速完成,才能赶在美国总统选举之前,于7月把这笔交易提交美国国会。
"You start adding these things up and we are kind of playing on overtime right now. There is an awful lot of work to do and not a lot of time. So, I think everybody understands that reality and, as I said, as soon as the Indian government is ready to go ahead, we are too," Boucher said.
The deal has been held up by domestic politics in India. The Indian government's Communist allies strongly oppose the agreement because they feel it undermines India's sovereignty and have warned the government not to go ahead with it.
However, the government is holding talks with the IAEA and says it remains committed to sealing the nuclear agreement with Washington.
印度政府正在和国际原子能机构举行谈判,而且表示印度仍然致力于跟美国签署这一核协议。
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament Wednesday his government is trying to bring around its allies.
印度总理辛格星期三对议会说,印度正在试图说服持印度共产党。
"We also continue to seek the broadest possible consensus within the country to enable the next step to be taken," Singh said. I believe such cooperation is good for us, for our energy security and for the world.
But it remains unclear how Prime Minister Singh will overcome opposition from his Communist allies, who have repeatedly threatened to withdraw support for the government if it goes ahead with the nuclear deal.