VIENNA: India's nuclear isolation ended this week after the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) here gave the go-ahead for the Indo-US atomic deal after three days of intense negotiations and political maneuvers. Overcoming fierce obstacles with China, Austria, Ireland and New Zealand holding out till the last minute, the historic India-specific waiver putting behind the country's 34 years of nuclear apartheid finally got the approval of the NSG which cleared a revised US draft by consensus.

The deal will now go to the US Congress for approval in the next few weeks before it can be operationalized. A relieved US President George W Bush spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over telephone from Washington and praised his "strong leadership" for the success at the NSG. The call came shortly after the nuclear cartel's approval at the end of unscheduled extended discussions. "After protracted negotiations, the NSG today adopted an exemption for nuclear exports to India," the Austrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement climaxing months of lobbying by US and India to get the atomic trade embargo lifted.

The US was euphoric after the NSG decision with its acting Secretary of State for Arms Control John Rood saying the NSG waiver was a "landmark decision" and an "important moment" for strengthening the global non-proliferation regime. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement that India was committed to strengthening the non-proliferation regime and maintaining a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing played a crucial role in bringing on board the skeptics.

The breakthrough came after the US President personally intervened to lobby with allies at the nuclear group to approve the trade waiver after killer amendments cropped up. "The U.S. Government engaged in an intense diplomatic effort," Rood said. Members of the NSG approached the issue in a serious manner, he said. "Countries had particular concerns, particular historical experience" but they approached the issue with the required "constructive and cooperative" attitude, Rood added.

He appreciated the NSG members for their willingness to approach the dialogue in a manner in which "even with regard to most serious concerns, there was willingness to find a way, to reach a kind of compromise that is necessary in multilateral negotiations." Asked what was the main factor that led to the breakthrough, Launsky said the statement of Mukherjee had assuaged the concerns of Austria and like-minded members making a contribution in achieving the objective. The relief is also there for Austria particularly in the Indian Government's plan for separation of 14 power plants that will come under the inspection of the UN atomic watchdog IAEA, he said. Austria also issued a statement saying it withdrew its objections after Mukherjee's statement which, it said, was decisive.

The US officials also contended that transferring nuclear technology to India will bring its atomic program under closer scrutiny and boost international non-proliferation efforts. The naysayers pushed hard for three conditionalities in the event of India conducting an atomic test before they relent. These were termination of trade, stoppage of transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technology and an annual review of the agreement.

It was the second time in two weeks that the NSG had met to try and agree on a change in its rules and was characterized by tough bargaining on both sides, with some member countries complaining of "bullying" tactics by Washington, diplomats who attended the negotiations said. Britain said it was happy that a compromise had been reached. "We're very pleased that we were able to reach a compromise that everyone could live with," British envoy Simon Smith said. The NSG was founded after India's 1974 atomic tests.