A day after deciding to sell uranium to India, Australia has linked it to New Delhi giving a legal commitment to abandon nuclear testing in future.
Australian government's chief nuclear adviser Ziggy Switkowski said Thurday India will have to play by acceptable international rules if it wants uranium from his country.
Amid opposition criticism of the government's decision to sell uranium, the chairman of Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation said he expected a ban on nuclear testing by India to be part of any deal with Australia.
"To be allowed access in one case to American technology for new generation reactors and to our high quality uranium you've got to be prepared to accommodate the rules that govern reasonable international behaviour," Australian newspaper Herald Sun quoted him as saying.
"I think continuing weapons testing would compromise that kind of a situation," Switkowski said.
Asked if India doesn't agree, he said "I think at that stage we have to reverse out of the agreement in terms of supplying Australian uranium."
His comments came as Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer made it clear that the decision to supply uranium to India cannot be implemented till the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement is fully in place.
Downer said Australia would "first of all" have to await the signing of a US-India pact to transfer civilian nuclear fuel and technology before Australian uranium went to India, The Australian newspaper reported today.
On Tuesday, the National Security Committee of Cabinet decided in principle to export uranium to India, conditional to agreed safeguards.
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