New Delhi
May 30, 98

We note with regret that the Security Council, in reacting to the nuclear tests carried out by Pakistan, has made several unwarranted references to India.  Much of the Council's statement is a repetition of the one it issued on 14th May to which  we have already given a response  on 15th May, 1998.  Nevertheless, it would be appropriate  to put the developments in perspective. 

2. We are astonished that the Council urges India not to conduct any further tests.  Prime Minister has repeatedly stated,  as widely reported in the media, and confirmed in the suo motu statement delivered in Parliament on 27th May, 1998,  that India will  observe a voluntary moratorium and refrain from conducting tests. India is also willing to move to a de-jure formulation of this declaration.  The Prime Minister has also announced that we are willing to participate in the negotiations on a fissile material cut off treaty in the Commission on Disarmament in Geneva. 

3. The misleading references in Security Council's Presidential Statement obfuscate the nature of Pakistan's nuclear and missile programmes, particularly  the well documented fact that they are  long established and are based on clandestine acquisitions and transfers. 

4. India remains firmly committed to a policy of friendly and cooperative relations with all its neighbours, the promotion of peace and stability in the region and the resolution of all outstanding issues through bilateral dialogue and negotiations. 

5. As the Prime Minister has stated,  we have always desired to pursue the path of peace and of comprehensive and constructive dialogue with Pakistan.  This is a manifestation of our national confidence and strength.  Our proposals for the modalities of the dialogue as also a range of other proposals are with Pakistan and we await their response.  Our dialogue includes peace and security issues including Confidence Building Measures. The international community can rest assured that on our part, there is no desire to heighten tensions and  Pakistan faces no threat from India. 

6.  Our commitment to restraint is evident in the  Prime Minister's  statement in Parliament on 28th May, 1998  that the Government is ready to discuss a " no first use "  agreement with Pakistan, as also with other countries bilaterally, or in a collective forum.  The Presidential Statement  ignores India's security concerns, which go beyond South Asia. 

7. On the broad issue of the nuclear environment that forced us to conduct these tests, which the Prime Minister again emphasized in Parliament were not directed against any country, the Prime Minister reiterated our commitment to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons within a specified framework of time.  India calls on all nuclear weapon states and indeed the international community to join with it in opening early negotiations for a Nuclear Weapons Convention so that these weapons can be dealt with in a global non-discriminatory framework as the other two weapons of mass destruction have been, through the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention.