Kiwis soft on India’s NSG bid |
New Zealand seems to be softening their position on India`s NSG membership , seeking only a criteria-based process for group expansion and not a one-time exception to any country. However, Turkey continues to bat for Pakistan, insisting that applications of both India and Pakistan be considered simultaneously.Adviser to Pakistan`s PM on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz has thanked Turkey for its "principled" position on the issue. Reports from Vienna, where the NSG met recently to chalk out the agenda for the upcoming plenary, had earlier said that Turkey was among a handful of countries, including New Zealand, Austria, Ireland and South Africa which had opposed membership for India as it had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Countries like New Zealand and Austria, following the US diplomatic push which saw secretary of state John Kerry writing to all NSG members asking them to not block the consensus for India`s membership , have relented and seem willing to work towards a compromise.Aziz spoke to the foreign ministers of Turkey and Austria, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Sebastian Kurg respectively.
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