Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conditional commitment to sell four nuclear reactors to India is welcome for at least three reasons. One, it reinforces the sense of urgency in New Delhi to accelerate the negotiations with Washington and the international community on implementing the Indo-US nuclear deal. Two, by highlighting the potential gains from the deal, Putin has, hopefully, helped lessen the paranoia that marked the recent Indian nuclear discourse. Above all, Putin’s initiative should encourage the Indian establishment to take advantage of the shared great power interests in promoting civilian uses of atomic energy and preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Contrary to the fears in a section of the US establishment that Moscow is jumping the gun on nuclear cooperation with India and pre-empting Washington’s prospects for selling nuclear reactors to India, Putin’s offer is only an intention to cooperate. Its realisation depends entirely on the successful implementation of the Indo-US nuclear deal. The joint statement on nuclear cooperation issued yesterday by Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh states that the proposed expansion of cooperation will take place “in accordance with their respective international commitments.” For Russia, those commitments will change only when the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group modifies its rules in favour of India.

Since Putin’s first visit to India in 2000, New Delhi and Moscow had been discussing the sale of additional nuclear reactors beyond the two which Russia was building at Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu. A few years back, Russia had signalled its inability to do so until the rules of the NSG were revised. France too embarked on a similar unsuccessful negotiation with India since President Jacques Chirac’s visit to New Delhi in 1998. Both Moscow and Paris had underlined the importance of getting the US on board to revise the global nuclear rules.

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