Political Quotes

“India may stand as the biggest obstacle to American hopes for the completion of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty this year. France, having conducted six nuclear tests the past five months, now favors an early conclusion to the CTB talks in Geneva. President Clinton listed the treaty as a priority in his State of the Union address. China said yesterday it will continue testing until the implementation of the treaty, an outcome that is far from certain. The CTB negotiations stand in jeopardy of being derailed by Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao's decision, announced in Geneva last week, to insist that the declared nuclear powers first agree to a timetable for total nuclear disarmament. Analysts say there can be no credible treaty without the participation of India, which exploded a nuclear device in 1974. Pakistan, also on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, would not sign if India did not, and a number of other developing countries could be expected to follow suit. Despite intense Western diplomatic pressure, India also plans to seek clauses in the treaty to bar the nuclear powers from updating their arsenals through laboratory testing.”