PERTH, Jan 15: Australia’s new government told an Indian envoy on Tuesday that they would not sell uranium to the Asian country while it was not a member of the global nonproliferation treaty.

The comments uphold a policy that would scuttle the previous government’s plans to start negotiating a uranium trade with India to fuel the country’s skyrocketing demand for electricity.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith held talks with Shyam Saran, a special envoy of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

After the talks Smith told reporters he had reiterated Labour’s policy on uranium sales.

“We went into the election with a strong policy commitment we would not export uranium to nation states who are not members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Smith said.

Saran did not comment after the meeting, but Smith said Saran was not surprised by the position.

Last August, then-prime minister Howard announced his government had agreed in principle to sell the nuclear fuel to India, pending successful negotiations on the conditions.

Howard defended the policy by arguing that nuclear power is key to curbing global warming as the Indian and Chinese economies’ hunger for energy grows.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty provides civil nuclear trade in exchange for a pledge from nations not to pursue nuclear weapons.

India became a nuclear-armed power in 1998, and has refused to sign the treaty.—AP