WASHINGTON, March 17: Washington on Thursday reiterated its opposition to Moscow supplying nuclear fuel to New Delhi, saying that such a deal should not go through before India honours its nuclear deal with the United States.

Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said while his country was aware of India’s energy needs, it believes that agreements such as the one struck with Russia should not be fulfilled before New Delhi’s landmark nuclear deal with Washington is ratified by the US Congress and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

“India needs energy (...) so one understands that,” Mr Burns told reporters.

But he added: “We think the proper sequencing would be that if India needs nuclear fuel for its reactors in Tarapur, that the proper way to do this would be to have the US Congress act, hopefully change our laws, have the NSG act and change NSG practices, and then countries would be free to engage at that point in civil nuclear trade with India.

“We think that that is the proper sequencing.”

He said Washington had made clear its position to both Delhi and Moscow, both of which had given the US prior notice about the deal.

The nuclear deal New Delhi signed earlier this month with the United States calls for restrictions on the transfer of nuclear technology to India to be lifted.

In return, India has agreed to separate its military and civilian nuclear facilities, and place the civilian ones under international safeguards.—AFP