A day after Australia said it would not supply uranium to India unless it signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), its Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, confessed to visiting Indian envoy Shyam Saran he had no idea that a mere reiteration of the Labour party’s long-standing nuclear policy would spark off a bilateral controversy.Government sources indicated that New Delhi may informally take up the issue with visiting Australian Trade Minister Simon Cream tomorrow on the sidelines of a bilateral meeting with Commerce Minister Kamal Nath.The Australian government spokesman has already side-stepped Smith’s statement, saying his government would “wait and watch” the outcome of New Delhi’s dialogue with the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) before taking a decision on nuclear commerce with India.Saran had gone to Australia at the invitation of Smith after the Labour government headed by Kevin Rudd took charge. As Smith’s constituency is near Perth, Saran was invited to brief the Foreign Minister on the status of the Indo-US nuclear deal and the larger bilateral relationship apart from watching the India-Australia Test at WACA.PMO sources confirmed to The Indian Express that during his official meeting with Smith, Saran briefed him in detail about the nuclear deal, including India’s ongoing talks with the IAEA and its engagement with the NSG to seek waiver on nuclear commerce. Saran did not take up with Smith the issue of Australia supplying uranium to India, sources said, since New Delhi still does not have a green signal from the NSG. Smith, on his part, told Saran that Australia could not supply uranium to India as per the Labour government’s policy unless it signed the NPT. To which Saran only said that Australia should take decisions on nuclear commerce on the basis of India’s impeccable nuclear non-proliferation record. Sources said Saran was not surprised by the Australian stand since this was a long-standing policy of the Labour party that replaced John Howard’s government in Canberra.
