India sounds out Japan about support for nuke deal with U.S.

TOKYO, Aug. 17 KYODO

India has approached Japan about having Prime Minister Shinzo Abe express support for New Delhi's civilian nuclear agreement with the United States during his visit to the country next week, in return for a pledge to cooperate with Abe's initiative to fight global warming, Japanese government sources said Friday.

Abe, however, is expected to forgo extending support for the deal during his talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi next Wednesday, given that the arrangements for the inspection of India's nuclear facilities have yet to be established, they said.

Abe is hoping to win cooperation from India, a major emitter of greenhouse gases, for his initiative to halve emissions by 2050. Global warming will be high on the agenda when Japan hosts next year's Group of Eight summit.

Indian officials have basically agreed that Singh will express "understanding and cooperation" regarding Abe's "Cool Earth 50" initiative, according to the sources. On the U.S.-Indian nuclear deal, Abe is expected only to reiterate Tokyo's stance that it is "considering" whether to support the deal, they said.

India, which is not a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has conducted nuclear weapons tests since the 1970s, will be able to access U.S. nuclear technology in return for opening a majority of its reactors to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Abe has already suggested that Japan may support the deal in the future, but this week's visit is not the right time because it will take place just days after he pledged at ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to make efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Another factor that weighs against Abe extending support during his trip to Delhi is the lack of progress in India's safeguards negotiations with the IAEA since he emphasized the significance of the accord in his talks with Singh in Tokyo in December, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.