India has conveyed to Russia that the third and fourth units of Kudankulam reactors will have to be brought under the purview of its nuclear liability law and that it was willing to renegotiate the price issue, if Moscow so desired. The development came at the 18th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission meeting chaired by foreign minister S M Krishna and Russian deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin.
“It is natural for the Russians to seek insurance if suppliers are accountable and we are willing to negotiate the cost issue but it has been conveyed to them that any technocommercial agreement for Kudankulam 3 and 4 will have to take into account that these reactors will come under the liability law,’’ said a government source.
Not holding back on Russia’s displeasure over developments related to Kudankulam and telecom firm Sistema, Rogozin said later that the rules of the game must not be changed until the game is over.
The Russians said that the Nuclear Liability law, which came into existence only as late as 2010, may not be in keeping with the spirit of the 2008 civil nuclear cooperation agreement and that the cost of the supplied equipment, too, would increase significantly if the suppliers are made accountable.
Ahead of his arrival in India, Rogozin had said, “If the supplier is to bear additional financial responsibility for hypothetical damage, then the price of the supplied equipment will increase, naturally’’.
India and Russia had recently signed an agreement for a $3.4 billion Russian line of credit for the reactors.
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