India to assuage Iran's concerns: Krishna

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India to assuage Iran's concerns: Krishna - India - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Admitting that Iran's nuclear programme is an issue between the two countries, foreign minister S M Krishna on Thursday said that India is trying to "assuage" whatever concerns Tehran has over the matter.

Talking exclusively to TOI, Krishna said that barring this one issue India continues to enjoy outstanding ties with Iran. India has voted twice in favour of IAEA resolutions censuring Iran for its nuclear programme but in terms of trade and other areas, ties between the two countries have seen steady growth. "India and Iran continue to enjoy excellent relations in all areas except for India's vote in favour of IAEA resolutions against Iran. Even on this issue, we are trying to assuage Iran's concerns," Krishna said.

Known to share a very good personal rapport with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, Krishna said that he would visit Iran for the G-15 summit scheduled to be held in Tehran in May. Krishna's statement is crucial in the context of India's attempts to look for allies who think similarly on the developing situation in Afghanistan and the role of the Taliban.

Mottaki had, in fact, invited Krishna to come to Iran during the Navroz celebrations in the last week of March. Krishna was keen on going to Iran but had to call off the trip because the Iranians changed the dates twice in quick succession — the dates mentioned in the end coinciding with his visit to Singapore.

Sources said that Krishna's personal equation with Mottaki, who managed to speak in Kannada with Krishna when he came to India last year, has helped the two countries maintain a healthy respect for each other even in the face of reverses over Iran's nuclear programme. Mottaki studied in Bangalore University.

Krishna said that India's vote in favour of IAEA resolution was only because of certain questions raised by IAEA which needed to be answered. He reiterated the importance of dialogue in the impasse.

Government sources said that India is against any international sanction on Iran which would adversely affect the ordinary people in Tehran. "We believe Iran, as a signatory to NPT, has certain commitments which it must adhere to," said an official.

 

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The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Eye on Kabul, Delhi sends pro-Iran signal

New Delhi, April 4: India has twice in two days underscored its good ties with Iran at a time the US is pressuring New Delhi to toe its line on sanctions against Tehran for its alleged nuclear programme.

Days after Washington advised New Delhi to keep away from Iran, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao today described the West Asian nation as a “responsible country” with which India had substantive historical relations.

Yesterday, government sources had let it be known that India’s ambassador in Tehran would attend a conference on nuclear disarmament that Iran is hosting.

That conference will be held on April 17 — just four days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returns from a two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. Singh has been invited to the US summit along with the leaders of 42 other nations, which do not include Iran.

New Delhi is also ready to defy US pressure on the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline. Last week, the US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, Robert Blake, had “advised” India and Pakistan not to do deals with Iran, with the stress on the gas pipeline.

Highly placed government sources, however, said yesterday that India had kept its door open on the pipeline, but was concerned about security issues in Pakistan.

“The issue on the pipeline is not political but economic and that of the pipeline’s security in Pakistan. We have not shut the door on the pipeline,” a source said.

India had earlier voted against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in February 2006 and again in November 2009 in a departure from its foreign policy traditions.

Sources said New Delhi’s softened stance on Tehran had much to do with the state of play in Afghanistan and India’s reliance on Iran for its energy needs.

The US, with help from Pakistan, is planning to “integrate” the “good Taliban” in the administration in Kabul before the international forces leave Afghanistan. India has adopted a policy of wait and watch but has expressed its concerns against the Taliban.

India, Russia and Iran had in the past supported the Northern Alliance against the Taliban and may have to come together again in the coming years, officials said.

However, whether India, like China, takes an anti-sanctions line on Iran remains to be seen.

The Washington summit will discuss ways to strengthen the global initiative to prevent nuclear weapons falling into terrorist hands. Prime Minister Singh will express New Delhi’s concerns on terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons in Pakistan.

Last month, external affairs minister S.M. Krishna had opposed talks of a US-Pakistan nuclear deal citing Islamabad’s poor proliferation record.

Singh is likely to propose that an international nuclear safety centre — a sort of think tank — be set up in India.

“You are aware of our concerns on terrorism and the possible acquisition of nuclear devices and material by terrorist groups,” foreign secretary Rao said today.

Since 2002, India has been piloting a resolution at the UN on preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction, she added.

The summit will conclude on April 13 after issuing an outcome document. The outcome has been negotiated over the past six months by officials from 44 countries and representatives of the European Union and the IAEA.