The United States of America has assured India that President Barack Obama’s resolution — since unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council on September 24 — requiring all members to ratify the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), is not directed at India. It would have no impact on the Indo-US civil nuclear pact.

“We have been assured that this is not a resolution directed at India and that the United States’ commitment to carry out its obligation under the civil nuclear agreement that we have signed with the US remains undiluted. This has been assured officially by the United States government,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing a press conference after wrapping up the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh.

Though President Obama did not have bilateral meetings with any other G20 leader given his preoccupation with the G20 Summit, Singh said they did discuss some important issues on Friday evening and Saturday morning. “I had an opportunity to talk to him. Last night, I was sitting immediately to his right and today morning too we talked,” the PM added.

Indian officials said the resolution might have been aimed at Iran and North Korea. On reports of Iran’s secret nuclear facility and calls for tougher sanctions against it, the Prime Minister said, “As a signatory to the NPT, Iran has all rights for peaceful use of atomic energy. But it must also carry out its obligation. That’s our principled position for the last five years.”

Regarding his expectations of Pakistan ahead of the foreign ministers’ talks in New York, Singh asked Pakistan to give up its old attitude regarding the use of terror as an instrument of state policy. “We hope the material we supplied to them regarding the attack in Mumbai, they will carry out investigations and bring to book all culprits. It has been admitted by Pakistan that the conspiracy directed at India was hatched in Pakistan.”

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