VIENNA — The U.S. gained key international backing Saturday for a bitterly contested plan to sell peaceful nuclear technology to India — a South Asia powerhouse that has tested atomic weapons but has refused to sign global nonproliferation accords.
The U.S. said the landmark deal, which still needs congressional approval, will place India’s nuclear program under closer scrutiny.
But detractors warned it could set a dangerous precedent in efforts to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction.
“By establishing a ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ set of rules, the decision will make it far harder to curb the South Asian nuclear and missile arms race,” said Daryl Kimball, who heads the Washington-based Arms Control Association. Kimball said the deal could undermine efforts to contain the Iranians and North Koreans.
The approval Saturday by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group dealt “a profound setback to the nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament system that will produce dangerous ripple effects for years to come,” he said.
The group, which governs the legal world trade in nuclear components and know-how, signed off on the deal after three days of contentious talks in Vienna and some concessions to countries insistent on holding India to its promises not to touch off a nuclear arms race.
The approval represented a major foreign policy victory for President Bush, who had made the deal a centerpiece of a major 2005 overture to India.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a trip to North Africa, called the deal “landmark” and said final congressional approval would be “a huge step for the U.S.-India relationship.”
India hailed the agreement as “a forward-looking and momentous decision.”
