India blames China for stalled nuclear group entry

NEW DELHI, June 25 (AFP) - India has blamed regional rival China for blocking its entry to a nuclear trade group opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, after its members met in South Korea with no decision on India's bid to join.

India wants to become a member of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) which works to prevent the sharing of technology that could spread nuclear weapons.

New Delhi believes joining the NSG, which concluded a two-day meeting in Seoul Friday, would give it better access to low-cost, clean nuclear energy, important for economic growth.

But despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reported attempts to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping to support

MOSCOW, June 24 (AFP) - India and Pakistan inched closer Friday to joining a regional security and economic bloc led by Russia and China, a move seen to boost the importance of the organisation.

“We expect that our partners will be able to accede as quickly as possible, by our next meeting in Kazakhstan” next year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the two countries signed memorandums on joining, the Kremlin website said.

Putin spoke at the summit in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent of the bloc known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Putin added it was time to “work closely” on ensuring India and Pakistan are integrated into the organisation's cooperation mechanisms, which include regular meetings between member states' foreign ministers and heads of government.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Putin for his “constructive role” in his country's bid to join SCO, after Putin had said India's accession would allow for closer cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi, the website said.

Putin told Chinese state news agency Xinhua ahead of the summit that the accession of India and Pakistan would increase the organisation's “relevance, both in the region and worldwide”.

Uzbek president Islam Karim told local India's membership, Beijing stood firm in its opposition.

“The NSG plenary in Seoul earlier in the day decided against granting India membership of the grouping immediately,” Vikas Swarup told Press Trust of India news agency.

A three-hour discussion on India's membership saw “procedural hurdles persistently raised by one country,” he said.

One obstacle reportedly raised by China was that India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -- a treaty on nuclear disarmament that India says is biased.

“India singles out China for crushing NSG dream,” a front page headline in the Hindustan Times newspaper said.

Others said that China had been not alone in its opposition. media Friday that the accession negotiations for Pakistan and India had been “difficult” but that organisation members had managed to reach a compromise.

The SCO -- whose members also include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- is mainly focused on security, although critics say it has done little to prepare the

The Indian Express newspaper said: “No entry in NSG: India blames one country (China), others said no too.” Modi had ramped up his bid to get India into the NSG in the last few weeks, undertaking a multi-nation trip to court key countries including the US, Switzerland and Mexico.

He met with China's Xi on the sidelines of a summit in Uzbekistan Thursday, apparently to push for Beijing's support.

“India believes that an early decision on its application remains in larger global interest,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

India's formal application to the group in May this year has received backing from key NSG members including US, France and Japan.