U.S. may press India on CTBT

August 13, 2010 09:20 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 08:53 pm IST - Washington:

In an indication that the United States might press India to accede to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) during President Barack Obama’s November visit, a top administration official here said the U.S. would “strengthen our efforts to achieve ratification of both treaties by... China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan...”.

Arguing that the ratification of the CTBT by these countries was necessary for the treaty to enter into force, Rose Gottemoeller, Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation, said the U.S. would also aim to get India and the other countries listed “negotiating a verifiable FMCT”.

Ms. Gottemoeller’s comments are particularly salient in the context of President Obama’s consistent emphasis on the U.S.’ commitment to get both treaties ratified during his time in office, a priority he outlined in a defining speech he made in Prague last year.

The White House’s keenness to step up efforts to get both treaties ratified was further exemplified in strong statements by Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, pressing Pakistan to end its opposition to the FMCT.

Speaking at the Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference this year she said, “I think everyone shares the disappointment that the U.S. shares that there is a country that is blocking the programme of work that was a very hard fought agreement... to move forward ... to begin negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty.”

She added that the U.S. joined with its friends and allies in “trying to persuade that country to step away and let the programme of work go forward because it would be a long negotiation”.

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