Saturday, 30 July 2011
US President Barack Obama, right, and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. (File Photo)
The Obama administration is quietly moving ahead on the groundwork for a possible civilian nuclear trade agreement with Saudi Arabia – an agreement that could prove to be the most controversial of a string of such US deals in recent years.
The US plans to hold what State Department officials are calling “exploratory talks” in Riyadh next week to gauge Saudi objectives behind their interest in a civilian nuclear deal. The US also wants to explore whether the Saudi government would accept restrictions to ensure its nuclear fuel is used purely for civilian purposes, according to congressional sources.
The US has recently concluded civilian nuclear trade deals – or so-called “123” agreements –with India and the United Arab Emirates and is in advanced discussions with countries including Jordan, Vietnam, and South Korea.
(For more on this, please see: http://goo.gl/PEvOn)
The US plans to hold what State Department officials are calling “exploratory talks” in Riyadh next week to gauge Saudi objectives behind their interest in a civilian nuclear deal. The US also wants to explore whether the Saudi government would accept restrictions to ensure its nuclear fuel is used purely for civilian purposes, according to congressional sources.
The US has recently concluded civilian nuclear trade deals – or so-called “123” agreements –with India and the United Arab Emirates and is in advanced discussions with countries including Jordan, Vietnam, and South Korea.
(For more on this, please see: http://goo.gl/PEvOn)
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