New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) India summoned US Ambassador to Delhi David Mulford after comments he made yesterday over possible consequences to the US plan to sell nuclear technology to India if the latter failed to back US motion to bring the Iranian nuclear power issue to the United Nations. He was told his comments were "inappropriate and not conducive to building a strong partnership between the two democracies," a foreign ministry statement after the ambassador met Foreign Minister Shyam Saran. India's vote would instead be determined by "India's own judgement" of the merits of the case.
Mr Mulford earlier said his remarks were taken out of context, whilst the US State Department said the ambassador was voicing his "personal opinion".
One of the key allies of the ruling Congress party-led coalition government, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded the government clarify its stand after Mr Mulford's comments.
In July 2005 the United States agreed to share advanced civilian nuclear technology with India during a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Washington, but the agreement must be approved by the US Congress, which has always been suspicious of India's intentions regarding the nuclear issue.
The deal needs to be finalised but it is doubtful now that the two capitals will find enough common ground before President George W. Bush starts a state visit to India in early March.
George Perkovich, vice president at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said an obstacle was India's nascent breeder reactor programme, which could produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.
India needs Iranian gas and is not interested in the dispute between Iran, the European Union and the United States. It wants Asian gas pipelines to converge on its territory so that a future Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline could be extended to the Caucasus; it also would like to see an oil pipeline from Assam in India reach Shanxi in China via Myanmar.
"The US is trying to coordinate with all countries around Iran in order to isolate it," said Liu Xuecheng, director of the Beijing Centre for American Studies and a senior fellow of the China Institute for International Studies.
"India and China have good relations with the US but need to follow their own strategy on Iran. [. . .] Pipelines from Iran and Central Asia are a strategic lifeline for Indian energy security."
"With India, Iran and Pakistan joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as observers, I think the US already sees" itself becoming isolated, "and they don't want this grouping to emerge in a big way because it will pose a strategic challenge to the US in this region," Dr Liu said.