ndia's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday began a four-day visit to the US to attend the 42-nation Nuclear Security Summit that will focus on nuclear security and his first bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama since they met in November last year.
Manmohan Singh was warmly welcomed at Andrews Air Force base by White House chief of protocol Capricia Marshall. India's ambassador to the US Meera Shankar, along with senior officials, was also present to welcome the prime minister.
Besides the first-ever Nuclear Security Summit, a pet project of Obama designed to secure all loose nuclear material within four years, Manmohan Singh will have a packed schedule of bilateral meetings with the leaders of the US, France and Canada.
There is no sign, however, of any bilateral meeting between Manmohan Singh and Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani who has also been invited for the nuclear summit.
In their first bilateral meeting since Obama hosted maiden state dinner of his administration for Manmohan Singh in November last year, the two leaders on Sunday are set to discuss a cluster of issues that are of pressing concern to them.
With the US hedging on extraditing David Coleman Headley, a key plotter of 26/11 attacks, to India, Manmohan Singh is expected to raise the issue that has revived misgivings about the US' intentions among a section of the political establishment back home.
India has been pitching for full access to Headley, an American-Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who has confessed to his role in plotting the 26/11 carnage, but the US has cited intricate legal procedures, saying it has yet to make a decision on it.
The Headley issue will be discussed in greater detail when National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon meets his American counterpart Gen (Retd) James Jones.
"We will keep pushing...This will be one of the issues...We'll use every occasion to seek access (to Headley)," sources said.
With an agreement sealed on a pact on reprocessing spent fuel, the two leaders will also appraise remaining steps required to implement the landmark India-US nuclear deal.
Manmohan Singh is likely to assure Obama that his government is determined to push the civil nuclear liability law through the Indian parliament that has attracted pointed hostility from India's opposition parties.
Under the 123 bilateral agreement, enacting a civil nuclear liability legislation is a key obligation India is required to fulfil before nuclear companies of the two countries can resume nuclear business.
As their meeting takes place a day ahead of the nuclear summit, the two leaders are set to discuss issues relating to evolving global nuclear architecture and nuclear terrorism that is expected to be the focus of the summit.
In his intervention at the summit, Manmohan Singh is expected to highlight the persistent dangers of illicit nuclear proliferation in India's neighbourhood and the role of Pakistan's A.Q. Khan network, dubbed as illicit nuclear Wal-Mart, in creating a fragile nuclear security situation in the region.
There are, however, potential areas of dissonance when the two leaders pick up threads on issues relating to Afghanistan and Pakistan when they met in November last year.
Obama is likely to enlist India's support for a renewed drive to impose fresh sanctions against Iran. But given the domestic sensitivity of the issue, Manmohan Singh is expected to reiterate India's position on dialogue and diplomacy as the best option to resolve the Iranian nuclear impasse.
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Obama limits the use of nuclear arms
President Barack Obama on Monday said he was narrowing down the conditions under which the US could use nuclear weapons but made it clear that North Korea and Iran would remain exceptions under the revamped strategy.
Ahead of the formal release of the new American strategy called the Nuclear Posture Review, Obama said it was part of efforts to move toward a nuclear-weapons free world.
Obama "described his policy as part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nuclear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to give up any nuclear ambitions," the New York Times said.
It said Obama's strategy was a sharp shift from those of his predecessors and seeks to revamp the nation's nuclear posture for a new age "in which rogue states and terrorist organisations are greater threats than traditional powers like Russia and China".
The daily noted that for the first time Washington explicitly committed not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, even if they attacked the United States with biological or chemical weapons or a cyber-attack.
Many threats could be deterred with "a series of graded options," Obama said in the interview with the NYT.
"I'm going to preserve all the tools that are necessary in order to make sure that the American people are safe and secure," he said.
The announcement comes shortly after a nuclear arms control agreement between US and Russia that will reduce their arsenals by 30 per cent.
Ahead of the formal release of the new American strategy called the Nuclear Posture Review, Obama said it was part of efforts to move toward a nuclear-weapons free world.
Obama "described his policy as part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nuclear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to give up any nuclear ambitions," the New York Times said.
It said Obama's strategy was a sharp shift from those of his predecessors and seeks to revamp the nation's nuclear posture for a new age "in which rogue states and terrorist organisations are greater threats than traditional powers like Russia and China".
The daily noted that for the first time Washington explicitly committed not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, even if they attacked the United States with biological or chemical weapons or a cyber-attack.
Many threats could be deterred with "a series of graded options," Obama said in the interview with the NYT.
"I'm going to preserve all the tools that are necessary in order to make sure that the American people are safe and secure," he said.
The announcement comes shortly after a nuclear arms control agreement between US and Russia that will reduce their arsenals by 30 per cent.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Obama wants new sanctions on Iran within weeks
U.S. President Barack Obama has said he wants the new set of sanctions against Iran to be placed within weeks and not in months.
“My hope is that we are going to get this (sanctions against Iran) done this spring. So I am not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place. I’m interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks,” Mr. Obama said in response to a question at a joint White House press conference with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
“We think that we can get sanctions within weeks,” Mr. Obama said, adding his administration is working to emphasise its international partners that this is not simply an issue of trying to isolate Iran.
The issue has enromous implications for the safety and the security of the entire region, according to him.
“We don’t want to see a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. A conflict in the Middle East as a consequence of Iran’s actions could have a huge destabilising effect in terms of the world economy at a time when it’s just coming out of a very deep recession,” the U.S. President said.
Referring to the initial policies of his administration, Mr. Obama said the approach to Tehran was to engage it and provide the opportunity to take the right path to prosperity.
The alternative path was further isolation and further consequences, he added.
“We mobilised the international community around this approach, including partners like Russia that in the past might have been more hesitant to take a firmer stance on Iran’s nuclear program. What we said, though, was that there was going to be a time limit to it and that if we had not seen progress by the end of the year, it was time for U.S. to move forward on that sanctions track,” he noted.
The U.S. President said the long—term consequences of a nuclear—armed Iran were unacceptable.
“And so Nicolas (Sarkozy), myself and others agree that we have engaged; the door remains open if the Iranians choose to walk through it. But they understand very clearly what the terms of a diplomatic solution would be. And in the interim we are going to move forcefully on a UN sanctions regime,” Mr. Obama said.
Acknowledging that there is no unanimity in the global community on this issue, he said more work has to be done, despite the U.S.’ stronger position to impose sanctions against Tehran.
“Partly (this was) because, Iran is a oil producer and there are a lot of countries around the world that, regardless of Iran’s offences, are thinking that their commercial interests are more important to them than these long—term geopolitical interests,” he said, adding the U.S. was “very clearly” communicating the importance of its stand.
Mr. Obama said he and the French President discussed their shared determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“On this the U.S. and France are united, are inseparable.
With our P5—plus-1 partners, we offer Iran good faith proposals to resolve this matter through diplomacy. But Iran thus far has rejected those offers. Today, the international community is more united than ever on the need for Iran to uphold its obligations. And that’s why we’re pursuing strong sanctions through the UN Security Council,” he said.
Agreeing with his American counterpart, France president Mr. Sarkozy said the time has come to take decisions.
“Iran cannot continue its mad race. Now, we don’t want to punish Iran, which deserves better than what it has by way of leadership today, and therefore fully support in order to get stronger, tougher sanctions at the Security Council and take the necessary decisions is what you have,” Mr. Sarkozy said.
The French president also informed Mr. Obama that he, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Premier Gordon Brown would make all necessary efforts to ensure Europe’s engagement in the sanction regime.
“My hope is that we are going to get this (sanctions against Iran) done this spring. So I am not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place. I’m interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks,” Mr. Obama said in response to a question at a joint White House press conference with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
“We think that we can get sanctions within weeks,” Mr. Obama said, adding his administration is working to emphasise its international partners that this is not simply an issue of trying to isolate Iran.
The issue has enromous implications for the safety and the security of the entire region, according to him.
“We don’t want to see a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. A conflict in the Middle East as a consequence of Iran’s actions could have a huge destabilising effect in terms of the world economy at a time when it’s just coming out of a very deep recession,” the U.S. President said.
Referring to the initial policies of his administration, Mr. Obama said the approach to Tehran was to engage it and provide the opportunity to take the right path to prosperity.
The alternative path was further isolation and further consequences, he added.
“We mobilised the international community around this approach, including partners like Russia that in the past might have been more hesitant to take a firmer stance on Iran’s nuclear program. What we said, though, was that there was going to be a time limit to it and that if we had not seen progress by the end of the year, it was time for U.S. to move forward on that sanctions track,” he noted.
The U.S. President said the long—term consequences of a nuclear—armed Iran were unacceptable.
“And so Nicolas (Sarkozy), myself and others agree that we have engaged; the door remains open if the Iranians choose to walk through it. But they understand very clearly what the terms of a diplomatic solution would be. And in the interim we are going to move forcefully on a UN sanctions regime,” Mr. Obama said.
Acknowledging that there is no unanimity in the global community on this issue, he said more work has to be done, despite the U.S.’ stronger position to impose sanctions against Tehran.
“Partly (this was) because, Iran is a oil producer and there are a lot of countries around the world that, regardless of Iran’s offences, are thinking that their commercial interests are more important to them than these long—term geopolitical interests,” he said, adding the U.S. was “very clearly” communicating the importance of its stand.
Mr. Obama said he and the French President discussed their shared determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“On this the U.S. and France are united, are inseparable.
With our P5—plus-1 partners, we offer Iran good faith proposals to resolve this matter through diplomacy. But Iran thus far has rejected those offers. Today, the international community is more united than ever on the need for Iran to uphold its obligations. And that’s why we’re pursuing strong sanctions through the UN Security Council,” he said.
Agreeing with his American counterpart, France president Mr. Sarkozy said the time has come to take decisions.
“Iran cannot continue its mad race. Now, we don’t want to punish Iran, which deserves better than what it has by way of leadership today, and therefore fully support in order to get stronger, tougher sanctions at the Security Council and take the necessary decisions is what you have,” Mr. Sarkozy said.
The French president also informed Mr. Obama that he, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Premier Gordon Brown would make all necessary efforts to ensure Europe’s engagement in the sanction regime.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Iran bans Gmail
Iran has banned Google’s Gmail service from the country, saying that it was launching a state run alternative to the popular web-based email site that would “build trust between people and the government”, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The paper said on Wednesday the move was announced by Iran’s telecommunications agency, but that it was unclear whether it had yet had an effect on the availability of Gmail in Iran.
The Gmail ban comes amid high tension between the government and the opposition, with the regime increasingly tracking the efforts of opposition supporters on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
The report said that Gmail is one of the most popular of the western mail services in Iran, especially among young people who are among the strongest supporters of the opposition.
Google had no immediate comment on the report.
The paper said on Wednesday the move was announced by Iran’s telecommunications agency, but that it was unclear whether it had yet had an effect on the availability of Gmail in Iran.
The Gmail ban comes amid high tension between the government and the opposition, with the regime increasingly tracking the efforts of opposition supporters on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
The report said that Gmail is one of the most popular of the western mail services in Iran, especially among young people who are among the strongest supporters of the opposition.
Google had no immediate comment on the report.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
30 candidates barred from Iraq’s elections
Iraq’s electoral commission has barred 30 candidates from running in March’s parliamentary elections because they face charges of crimes involving “moral turpitude,” Baghdad’s al-Sabbah newspaper reported on Wednesday.
“All candidates have had their records reviewed by the Ministry of Interior. It emerged that over 30 candidates face charges of crimes and misdemeanors involving moral turpitude,” Osama a-—Aini, of Iraq’s Independent High Commission for Elections, told the daily.
“These candidates will be banned from the elections in accordance with electoral law and the Iraqi constitution. Their political parties will be informed, so that they can nominate replacements for them,” Iraq’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for March 7.
Some 511 candidates and 10 groups have been banned by the Accountability and Justice Commission, the independent body that replaced the de-Baathification Committee, from running in the elections because of their links to the former ruling Baath Party, which is now banned under the Iraqi constitution. “We have received data on the candidates from the Accountability and Justice Commission,” al-Aini said. “The Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology are still working on verifying the records of the candidates, of which there are around 7,000.”
“All candidates have had their records reviewed by the Ministry of Interior. It emerged that over 30 candidates face charges of crimes and misdemeanors involving moral turpitude,” Osama a-—Aini, of Iraq’s Independent High Commission for Elections, told the daily.
“These candidates will be banned from the elections in accordance with electoral law and the Iraqi constitution. Their political parties will be informed, so that they can nominate replacements for them,” Iraq’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for March 7.
Some 511 candidates and 10 groups have been banned by the Accountability and Justice Commission, the independent body that replaced the de-Baathification Committee, from running in the elections because of their links to the former ruling Baath Party, which is now banned under the Iraqi constitution. “We have received data on the candidates from the Accountability and Justice Commission,” al-Aini said. “The Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology are still working on verifying the records of the candidates, of which there are around 7,000.”
