U.S. may lift sanctions against India: Rubin

U.S. may lift sanctions against India: Rubin

WASHINGTON (Agencies): Indian moves toward signing a global nuclear test ban treaty have led the United States to consider lifting some of the sanctions imposed after New Delhi's nuclear tests in May, the State Department said on Monday.

Spokesman James Rubin told reporters that a U.S. delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott had been encouraged by weekend talks with Indian officials on the nuclear proliferation issue.

"The dialog was productive and generated new momentum," Rubin told a news briefing, referring to U.S. efforts to get New Delhi to sign the 1996 global Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

"There was encouragement on the part of our negotiators... there are some indications that the Indians are going to move in a direction that will allow us to respond with moves of our own."

"We have said all along that our sanctions policy will be adjusted, based on progress in non-proliferation negotiations," he said.

"Progress has been made in these most recent negotiations, and we are consulting with Congress and other members of the international community, on how to respond to movement in the right direction."

A decision on the matter would be made "soon," Rubin added. The U.S. wants India and Pakistan to sign the CTBT, halt further fissile material production, strengthen export controls and exercise mutual restraint in missile and weapons development.

Rubin's comments followed reports in India that a senior member of the U,S, delegation said the sanctions might be eased "very soon."

"There will be a tangible, visible movement on sanctions very soon in the context of the anticipation of India taking some very specific steps on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)," the official was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.

India's nuclear tests in May 1998 triggered similar tests by Pakistan, earning both countries a raft of international sanctions spearheaded by the United States. The sanctions were partially lifted in December.

Separately Talbott said on Tuesday that Washington already has a commitment from Pakistan to sign the CTBT, a promise Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave U.S. President Bill Clinton last December.

Talbott told reporters that last year's commitment was good enough for him, but he said there were a host of issues on the negotiating table.

Among the issues was the development of nuclear weapons, considered by many to be the next big nuclear hurdle both India and Pakistan will have to cross. Both countries are believed to have missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons and capable of hitting most major cities on the Asian subcontinent.

Pakistan already has warned that it will not be left behind if India begins to develop nuclear weapons.

Given that India and Pakistan have fought three wars in the last 51 years, the nuclear tests by the hostile neighbors generated world fears of another conflagration that could escalate into a nuclear war.