Lanka snubs India, talks nukes with Pak

NEW DELHI: In an apparent tit for tat, Sri Lanka is moving in the direction of a nuclear pact with Pakistan after India voted against it at the UN this year.

At the same time, it is dragging its feet on a similar pact with India by not scheduling talks despite Delhi’s keenness to conclude the agreement soon.

India had offered Sri Lanka a comprehensive nuclear pact that would deal with all aspects of civil nuclear cooperation, including safety and training of professionals. One round of talks was held in October last year, and India also sent the southern country a draft pact.

But since then, Delhi has been waiting for a Lankan response on dates for further talks. Official sources said, “We are yet to hear from them,” despite offering a “comprehensive pact”.

Meanwhile, sources said foreign secretary-level talks between Sri Lanka and Pakistan have identified civil nuclear technology as a major area of cooperation.

Statements made by Lankan authorities show their intent to negotiate nuclear deals with both India and Pakistan, sources said.

Sri Lanka’s overtures to Pakistan are of concern to India, which sees its western neighbour as a country “with dubious nonproliferation records”. It also has issues with Colombo overlooking its intention to give it the best possible deal. The second vote against Sri Lanka on the Tamil issue at the UN human rights council in March this year upset the country. Of the 25 countries that voted against Sri Lanka, only India and South Korea were from Asia. Thirteen members, including Pakistan and China, voted against the resolution and eight abstained. India had voted against Sri Lanka in 2012 as well.