US, Russia refuse to recognise India, Pak as nuclear powers

Besides, the two leaders signed agreements to provide tip-offs on worldwide missile launches and reduce plutonium stockpiles, even as Moscow conveyed its opposition to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s eastward expansion and sought America’s political support to lift it from financial crisis.

“We have renewed our commitment to persuade India and Pakistan to reverse their arms race,” Clinton told a joint press conference at the Kremlin after the talks.

Without naming India and Pakistan, Clinton and Yeltsinaffirmed their commitment not to recognise the two South Asian neighbours as nuclear powers despite the testing of nuclear devices by them.

The two superpowers also decided to set up within a month several joint working groups to check the proliferation of nuclear and other sensitive technology.

In a joint declaration on `The common challenges on the threshold of the 21st century’, the US and Russia reiterated their commitment to achieving the goal of all countries signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty “in its present form, without any change.”

Urging all countries to sign the CTBT, they declared their commitment to tighten the rules of nuclear supplies from the group of five recognised nuclear countries.

However, the agreement, described by both presidents as “important” for the security of the American and Russian people, was the decision to set up a joint centre in Russia to globally monitor the launches of ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles to avert an accidental war.

“Wehave reached an important agreement to increase the safety of all our people, an arrangement under which our countries will give each other continuous information on worldwide launches of ballistic missiles or space-launched vehicles,” Clinton said.

He added that “This will reduce the possibility of nuclear war by mistake or accident and give us information about the missile activity of other countries.”

“We have also agreed to remove from each others’ nuclear programmes approximately 15 tonnes of plutonium. Once converted, this plutonium can never again be used to make weapons to become lethal in the wrong hands,” the US President told newspersons.