THE United States said yesterday that more negotiations on a global treaty banning nuclear tests could jeopardise any chance of agreement and appealed to nations to put aside their differences and approve the landmark, deal now.
The warning was issued to U.N. sponsored talks in Geneva which have brought together 61 nations to complete a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
India and China have led objections to the current treaty and, with the talks bogged down, the chances now appear slim that it will be ready for signature on schedule in September.
China remained firm in its opposition to parts of the treaty at a plenary session of the talks on Thursday.
India did not address the meeting but its regional rival, Pakistan, said it also had serious concerns and attacked India for building what it called a nuclear threat. Iran said the major powers could not afford to ignore these concerns.
Mr John Holum, chief of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, said more negotiations after over two years of talks and compromise on all sides would be fruitless.
"We could spend more days, more months, more years, searching for the perfect treaty," he said. "But we will never do better The most probable result of further negotiation is to doom this treaty - and once more turn back a 40 year effort to ban nuclear explosions."
Except for China, the declared nuclear powers - the United States, Russia, France and Britain - want the treaty to be approved as it stands and sent to UN headquarters in New York so that it can be signed by world nations next month. Most other countries at the Geneva talks agree.
India, which failed to win a firm commitment from nuclear powers on a timetable for disarmament as part of the treaty, has concerns over how the treaty would enter into force.
The Chinese ambassador, Mr Sha Zukang, made clear there could be no question of compromise on China's objections to plans for triggering international inspections of sensitive nuclear sites.
"The Chinese delegation cannot agree to allow easy inspections in its country by inspectors coming and going like international tourists," he told the talks.
China, Russia, Britain and Pakistan have insisted that India must be among more than 40 countries which would have to ratify the agreement before it comes into force. India says this is unacceptable since it would be forced to comply with the treaty.
India exploded a nuclear device in 1974 and, along with Pakistan and Israel, is widely believed to have nuclear weapons or the ability to assemble them quickly.
Asked whether he thought it was still possible to win achieve a treaty, Mr Holum told reporters: "This treaty is by no means secured. It could go either way."
. Pakistan's Prime Minister, Ms Benazir Bhutto, said yesterday Pakistan would not sign the proposed global nuclear test ban treaty until India did so too. Her remarks to a public rally came after sharp opposition criticism of a foreign ministry statement two weeks ago that Pakistan was still undecided whether or not to sign.