We are committed to having India in Nuclear Suppliers Group: US

A senior US official said that Washington was committed to India's membership of the 48-member NSG.

New Delhi: Nearly a week after China and several other nations blocked India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the United States – which has strongly backed India's case – said on Wednesday that one country cannot hold back New Delhi's membership of the elite nuclear club.

A senior US official said here today that Washington was committed to India's membership of the 48-member NSG.

"We are committed to having India in the Nuclear Suppliers Group," Thomas Shannon, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, said.

"India's recent entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) highlights that India is a responsible and important player in non-proliferation," he said.

At the NSG plenary in Seoul last week, China had defied international consensus to award NSG membership to India and said any nation seeking entry into the NSG needed to be a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

India had formally applied for membership of the NSG on May 12 this year.

"We regret that in Seoul, we were unable to open the space necessary to have India in the Nuclear Suppliers Group at this moment," Shannon said.

"We understand that in a consensus-based organisation, one country cannot stop international consensus," he added.