& only a week after the Bush visit which gave gave India US nUke technology -- this is clear evidence that trade-driven geopolitics is alive and well

India 'secures Russian uranium'

India says Russia has agreed to sell it uranium to power two nuclear reactors.
Foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said the fuel from Moscow was needed to ensure two units at the Tarapur power station continued to operate safely.

Russia and France have intermittently provided Delhi with uranium since the US stopped supplies following India's first nuclear tests in 1974.

Under a recent deal, India is to have access to US civilian nuclear help, but cannot do so under current US law.

Non-signatory

Mr Sarna said Russia, a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group which controls global nuclear trade, was exporting "a limited amount of uranium fuel" under a safety clause.

A shortage of fuel for Tarapur would have affected its continued operation under reliable and safe conditions

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna

The provision allows nuclear fuel shipments to be made to non-signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, such as India, in the case of "a radiological hazard to public health and safety which cannot reasonably be met by other means".

Mr Sarna said Russia had notified the Nuclear Suppliers' Group of its intentions to meet India's request for fuel for the Tarapur plant in western Maharashtra state.

"A shortage of fuel for Tarapur would have affected its continued operation under reliable and safe conditions," Mr Sarna said.

He said the safety consideration overrode Russia's commitments laid down by the NPT.

NUCLEAR POWER IN INDIA
India has 14 reactors in commercial operation and nine under construction
Nuclear power supplies about 3% of India's electricity
By 2050, nuclear power is expected to provide 25% of the country's electricity
India has limited coal and uranium reserves
Its huge thorium reserves - about 25% of the world's total - are expected to fuel its nuclear power programme long-term
Source: Uranium Information Center


Global nuclear powers

The treaty forbids the sale of nuclear material to non-signatory countries, except in extraordinary circumstances.

The last supplies made by Moscow in 2001 sparked US protests.

The controversial US-India nuclear deal, which reverses three decades of US policy, was finalised during President Bush's recent visit to India.

It will give energy-hungry India access to US civil nuclear technology.

In return, Delhi has agreed to open 14 of its nuclear facilities to inspection. Eight others have been designated as military sites and will remain closed.

Mr Bush has admitted it might be hard to get the landmark deal through the US Congress, which must ratify it.

Critics of the deal say it sends the wrong message to countries like Iran, whose nuclear ambitions Washington opposes. Some opponents in India say it might compromise national security and Indian foreign policy.