G-8 sticks to formula: Only dismay no curbs

The statement called on India "to rejoin the mainstream of international opinion, to adhere unconditionally to the NPT and CTBT and to enter into negotiations on a global treaty to stop the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons."

India’s tests, the statement said, run "counter to the will expressed by 149 signatoriesto the CTBT to cease nuclear testing, to efforts to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime and to steps to enhance regional and international peace and security."

It urged "India and other states in the region to refrain from further tests and the deployment of nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles" and reiterated the call to Pakistan "to exercise maximum restraint in the face of these tests and to adhere to international non-proliferation norms."

The statement amounts to little more than the "dismay" that the British government had said it wanted the G-8 to express. It would appear from its tone that the Europeans in the G-8 and Russia, who were opposed to the imposition of sanctions, held the day.

Canada, which along with the US, wanted a stronger expression of opprobrium and the imposition of sanctions reacted by stepping up its embargo against India. It has reduced its aid allocation to India to include only humanitarian aid. Canadian officials said that Prime Minister Jean Chretien spoke onFriday by telephone to Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif yesterday and appealed to him not to follow India’s lead by conducting its own tests.

There are suggestions that Britain as European Union (EU) president will try to work out an agreement with the 15 member countries to impose limited military sanctions against India. Several European Union countries, including Sweden, have already placed embargoes on arms sales to India. With the exception of Britain and France, all the EU countries who contribute development aid to India, have also embargoed or reduced their contributions.

But, this morning Britain’s aid minister, Clare Short, reiterated that Britain did not intend to stop aid to India. She however would not be drawn on what further action Britain and the EU might be considering. A decision is expected after the EU foreign ministers meeting on May 25.

British government officials confirmed that last night (Friday) Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair had a 10 minute telephone conversation with IndianPrime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayee. They said that Blair asked Vajpayee — now that the tests were completed — to show India’s traditional commitment to non-proliferation by entering into immediate negotiations towards signing the CTBT. Vajpayee is reported to have said that he would discuss the subject with his Cabinet.

The Pakistan government is reported to have written to the G-8 collectively criticising their joint statement as “too weak.” In response to questions about Pakistan’s letter to the G-8, a US government spokesperson told reporters in Birmingham this afternoon that it was hoped that the Pakistan government “will decide that its national interest is better served by not testing than by testing.” Echoing President Clinton’s statement yesterday that Pakistan would be “statesmanlike” to show restraint, the spokesperson said: “if they make this decision they will occupy the moral high ground in the region”.

Sign CTBT: Clinton

BIRMINGHAM: U S President Bill Clinton todaycalled on India to sign "immediately and without conditions" the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and urged Pakistan not to follow India’s example and carry out its own nuclear test. In his weekly radio broadcast to America from Birmingham, he said India’s five nuclear tests this week were "unjustified".