Pushing for a new global civil nuclear architecture to meet global energy needs, the United States on Wednesday said there is a strong international consensus on how to handle nuclear terrorism that poses a major threat to world security.
Ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington next week, top US officials said there is a strong consensus among the participating countries on how to handle nuclear terrorism.
This consensus view is expected to be reflected on the joint communiqué to be released at the end of the two-day Nuclear Security Summit on April 13, which is being attended by world leaders of more than 40 countries, including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The administration said that it favours a new global civil-nuclear architecture allowing countries to meet their energy needs without posing proliferation risk.
"The Obama administration has favoured new international civil nuclear-energy architecture, an architecture that allows countries around the world to benefit from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy without increasing proliferation risks," said Robert J Einhorn, Special US Advisor for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Arms Control.
James N Miller, Principal Deputy Secretary of Defence for Policy, said there was a "very strong international consensus" to prevent nuclear terrorism.
"I think there's likely to be a very strong international consensus to prevent nuclear terrorism and to make sure that physical security measures throughout the world are very strong," he said.
"President Obama has set the goal of securing all potentially vulnerable nuclear materials for four years, and we're hoping that this summit meeting will endorse that approach," Miller told media persons at a news conference.
The purpose will be to raise international consciousness about the threat of nuclear terrorism, and to encourage all countries to accept responsibility for taking practical steps to reduce the likelihood that terrorists will get their hands on nuclear materials and be able to build a bomb.
As such the world leaders participating at the summit will be talking about a variety of nuclear security measures that each of them can take within their own countries to prevent theft or seizure of nuclear materials and prevent transit, smuggling of nuclear materials through their territories, Miller said.
Clarifying that the summit next week will not be about nuclear nonproliferation or nuclear disarmament, Einhorn said those subjects will be covered in May at the NPT review conference.
"Next week the summit will focus on nuclear security, the threat of nuclear terrorism and how to secure materials on one's territory, in transit, to prevent terrorists from getting hold of those materials or those weapons," said the Special US Advisor on Non Proliferation and Arms Control.
"The joint statement will express the commitment of the leaders to do whatever they can to strengthen nuclear security," he added.
On the new global civil-nuclear architecture, Einhorn said it is expected to address the long-pending demand of Pakistan, which is seeking a civil nuclear deal with the US to meet its energy needs through nuclear power.
"Ideas have been put forward, like fuel-supply assurances, international fuel banks. These are designed to give countries more options, to give them more access to the nuclear fuels they need to run a nuclear-energy programme, a nuclear-power programme. We have supported these international fuel banks to do that," Einhorn said.
However, this would not be the focus of the nuclear Summit next week. "This issue will come up at the May NPT Review Conference, but this is not the focus of next week," Einhorn said.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, when he was in Washington last month to launch the US-Pak Strategic Dialogue, had sought a civil nuclear deal on the lines of that of India.
The Obama Administration did not give any concrete assurance to Qureshi in this regard, neither did it totally reject the request.
