US President George W. Bush signed legislation on December 18 implementing the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with India . US law prohibits the transfer of nuclear materials and technology to states that have not joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). But an exception has been made for India. Moreover, eight Indian military factories will continue to be closed to international observers. But Bush was not bothered by this. He called the law he signed “the cornerstone of a new strategic partnership.”
Having tried to put the agreement with India into effect before the New Year, the White House is simultaneously rushing to punish Iran for its nuclear activities, although Tehran, unlike Delhi, has signed the NPT. According to US State Department press secretary Sean McCormack, the United States “hopes” that the resolution on anti-Iranian sanctions “will be put to a vote in the very near future”: “The time has come to vote.”
Petr ISKENDEROV
The US is in a hurry to execute and pardon • Vremya novostej • RIMA — Russian Independent Media Archive
