Pages 76-77 from FCO 371_149472 - Indian atomic power station

This document discusses the issue of safeguards and the Indian nuclear power station in bilateral talks with the French during the NATO Ministerial Meeting. The Indians have invited tenders for a 300-megawatt nuclear power station but are unwilling to accept safeguards against military diversion of the material or the produced plutonium. Ministers have decided to insist on safeguards, and this stance has been communicated to the Indians, the United States, Canada, and UK manufacturing consortia. The French have been approached to ensure they also insist on safeguards, but they have reacted negatively, claiming it is unreasonable to expect them to accept nuclear club obligations without privileges. They have not provided a clear decision on the matter. Efforts are recommended to press the French for a response, emphasizing the importance of maintaining safeguards to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by other countries. Similar representations have been made by the Americans in Paris with a similar reply from the French.