Russia against sanctions

MOSCOW, May 12: Indirectly opposing the US-led threat of economic sanctions against India for conducting nuclear tests on Monday, Russian Pr...

MOSCOW, May 12: Indirectly opposing the US-led threat of economic sanctions against India for conducting nuclear tests on Monday, Russian President Boris Yeltsin said here today that Russia felt the only way to change India8217;s policy was by diplomatic means.

He was addressing a conference of Russian diplomats.

During his speech, which was nationally televised, Yeltsin said: 8220;India has let us down with its explosion, but I think, we must achieve a turnaround in their position by working through diplomatic ways, through our visits to India.8221;

Yeltsin8217;s Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov ruled out joining any international sanctions against India for carrying out nuclear tests, saying such punitive measures will be an 8220;extreme8221; and 8220;counter-productive8221; step.

He told commercial NTV television that India8217;s nuclear stand was 8220;short sighted8221; and said, 8220;we will use our special and strategic relations with India to convince New Delhi that it should stop at this point.8221;

Terming the development as 8220;nota global, but a regional approach on security8221;, he expressed confidence that through intensive diplomatic efforts, Russia could persuade India to join NPT and CTBT.8221; Denying that Russia, for the 8220;sake of its strategic partner India8221;, was sacrificing its strategic interests and opposing rest of the world by adopting a 8220;mild8221; stand on nuclear tests, Primakov said Moscow was very much in agreement with other major powers that the number of nuclear states should not grow.

Later, expressing Kremlin8217;s reaction to India8217;s nuclear tests, Yeltsin8217;s press secretary Sergei Yastrzhembsky expressed the hope that India would join the treaty banning such tests as 8220;these nuclear tests destroy the fabric of international understanding8221;.

8220;We are by far not delighted by actions of this sort,8221; he said. 8220;We think, India earlier or later, better earlier than later, will join the international convention on comprehensive nuclear test ban,8221; Yastrzhembsky noted.

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Meanwhile, the first Deputy Minister of Russia8217;sAtomic Energy, Viktor Mikhailv said the nuclear tests will not affect in any way the Indo-Russian cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

8220;Our contacts have very deep roots and the competition in the world market for construction of nuclear power stations in very tough,8221; he said, expressing the hope that Indian leadership will reserve this market for Russia. At the same time, he called on India to sign the CTBT and put its nuclear programme under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA.