After the storm that US State Department spokes-person Sean McCormack’s remark created, India sought a clarification from the US which is learnt to have replied that what was said was a “mis-statement”. McCormack had said all civilian nuclear cooperation would be terminated if India conducted a nuclear test. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament on Thursday that there was “no authentic record” of what had been said. After many Ministers, at the Cabinet meeting, felt India should obtain clarity from the US on the statement, the matter was taken up by the Indian mission in Washington which was informed that there was no particular intent behind this remark.It's understood that McCormack was approached by some journalists after the regular briefing on Wednesday and in reply to queries, mentioned: “The proposed 123 agreement has provisions in it that in the event of a nuclear test by India, all nuclear cooperation is terminated.” While there are provisions in the 123 Agreement on action that may be taken if India were to test, the document also states that both sides would view termination as a major setback to the bilateral relationship.Moreover, the party wanting to take this drastic step has to give a one-year notice to be used for consultations on the circumstances that may prompt a test. In the context of these multiple provisions in the termination clause, McCormack’s remark also surprised the government as it was not in the spirit of what had been agreed. Further, these remarks aren't part of the official transcript and for this reason its veracity could not be fully ascertained. For the record, US points to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns’s briefing on the agreement as Washington’s “accurate understanding” of the n-deal.
