US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI6485

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 006485 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KNNP, ETTC, MNUC, IN, IR, NSSP, Indo-US 
SUBJECT: NATWAR RESERVED ON US-INDIA NUCLEAR UNDERSTANDING 
 
REF: STATE 150160 
 
Classified By: Ambassador David Mulford for reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1. (C) Foreign Minister Natwar Singh was oddly aloof on the 
US-India nuclear understanding when the Ambassador met with 
him August 23 to convey the Secretary's letter designating 
Undersecretary Burns as the US interlocutor for the civil 
nuclear working group established in the July 18 joint 
statement (reftel).  The Ambassador offered congratulations 
on the GOI's successful navigation of the recent 
Parliamentary debate over the PM's US visit, and underlined 
the President and Secretary Rice's shared commitment to 
achieving the full potential of our bilateral relationship. 
The Ambassador also raised PSI, noting our hope that New 
Delhi will respond to the disbanding of the Core Group by 
subscribing to the Statement of Interdiction Principles and 
taking part in the PSI Indian Ocean interdiction exercise to 
be hosted by the UK in November. 
 
2. (C) Without giving any hint as to who will be 
Undersecretary Burns' counterpart, Natwar acknowledged that 
he had received reports of strong resistance from certain 
elements on Capitol Hill, and observed that India's situation 
is relatively easier, since none of the steps the GOI must 
take require legislative ratification.  The Ambassador 
flagged the upcoming EU-India summit as a chance for India to 
make its case to the European members of the Nuclear 
Suppliers Group.  Natwar confirmed that the GOI has thus far 
made no third-country approaches to sell the July 18 
framework, but did point out that PM Blair has already spoken 
supportively of the US-India understanding.  On Proliferation 
Security, Natwar noted positively a recent Parliamentary 
question in which the GOI indicated that it was looking at 
PSI, but did not commit to specific timing for completion of 
PSI negotiations. 
 
3. (C) Natwar indicated that he (and Foreign Secretary Saran) 
would be in the US from September 13-25 in connection with 
the Prime Minister's September 13-14 appearance at UNGA 
(Natwar will also go to Ottawa).  The Minister did not, 
however, indicate any intention to use the UNGA visit to 
engage with others on India's civil nuclear plans.  Pressed 
by the Ambassador regarding continued grumbling from the 
scientific community about the requirement to separate 
India's civilian and military establishments, Natwar claimed 
there was no division of opinion, citing recent interviews by 
Atomic Energy Chairman Khakodkar as evidence that the 
scientists are on board.  "I don't see any problem on our 
side," the Minister concluded. 
 
4. (C) The Ambassador also raised the issue of Iran's nuclear 
weapons program, and our hope that India will use its 
influence in Tehran and Vienna to support the EU-3 effort. 
Natwar reported that he will travel to Tehran September 2 in 
order to "get to know the new set up."  He noted that Iranian 
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had lived in Bangalore 
for several years as a student, adding that his new 
counterpart has placed a high priority on relations with New 
Delhi.  The Ambassador returned to our need for India's 
assistance in bringing Iran into compliance with its NPT 
obligations, noting that this issue could play into 
Congressional debate over the US-India nuclear understanding. 
 "Yes," Natwar replied, we can help, underlining that he was 
going to Tehran in an exploratory mode. 
5. (C) Comment: The Minister seemed oddly aloof on this set 
of issues, in contrast to his much more passionate and 
engaged presentations on Bangladesh and Pakistan (septel). 
Some of this may be a function of the prolonged Parliamentary 
session, with its bruising debate over the PM's agenda with 
the US.  But it was also clear that the GOI has not yet made 
its decisions about who will be Undersecretary Burns' 
counterpart for the important negotiations that lie ahead. 
Hopefully the Secretary's letter will help to accelerate this 
decision. End Comment. 
MULFORD