India, Russia to sign umbrella n-deal; Manmohan in Moscow (Second Lead)

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MOSCOW/NEW DELHI - India and Russia will sign Monday an umbrella agreement for expanding civil nuclear cooperation that will give New Delhi the right to reprocess spent fuel, taking the pact “far beyond the 123 agreement” inked with the US, official sources said Sunday.

The comments came as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Moscow on a three-day visit that is expected to take their strategic partnership to another level in “an evolving international situation.

“Expansion of civil nuclear cooperation deal is extremely progressive. (It is) a path-finder and path-breaking deal,” said an official in New Delhi before the prime minister’s departure.

Officials travelling with the prime minister to Moscow said the pact has a forward looking language on nuclear reprocessing rights for India.

After the deal is signed, the nuclear fuel supply won’t be stopped if bilateral cooperation breaks up in future,” said a senior Indian official in Moscow.

Manmohan Singh in Moscow will hold annual India-Russian summit talks with President Medvedev. He will also meet Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. His visit comes close on the heels of his visit to Washington and talks with President Barack Obama on “operationalising” their landmark nuclear deal.

The inter-governmental umbrella agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear energy will provide a comprehensive framework for expanding the existing civil nuclear cooperation between New Delhi and Moscow. Last year the two sides signed a pact for Russia building four additional reactors at Kudankulam in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The agreement will be an advance on the 123 civil nuclear cooperation agreement signed between India and the US last year by granting India the right to reprocess spent fuel and facilitating the transfer of the sensitive enrichment and reprocessing technologies, official sources said. A reprocessing deal with the US is in the pipeline.

Recently, India announced the allocation of one more site at Haripur in West Bengal for nuclear reactors supplied by Russia. Russia, one of the earliest supporters for India re-joining the global nuclear trade, had supported consensus for New Delhi in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

“A great deal (of bilateral agreements) is expected during the prime minister’s visit to Moscow with good package of items on the palate. The visit covers a significant gamut of issues,” the Indian official said.

The two countries are expected to sign three key defence pacts, including the one on multi-role transport aircraft.

India and Russia have also agreed on a 10-year (2011-2020) deal on weapons, aircraft and maintenance contract potentially worth at least $5 billion. All defence deals between the two countries will come under the 10-year agreement.

The pact would include a $1 billion deal for 80 Russian Mi-17 helicopters and contracts for fitting Brahmos missiles into Sukhoi fighter plans, sources said.

It also includes building a modern supersonic fighter aircraft visible to radars like the US F-22 Raptor Stealth fighter.

The third pact covers after-sales product support for defence equipment of Russian origin.