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India says it does not intend to engage in a new arms race, as talks on a nuclear deal with the United States continue today (Friday) in Vienna.

India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement today (Friday) that New Delhi remains committed to a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing. He said India affirms its policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons.

Diplomats from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group are in Vienna discussing whether to lift a decades-old ban on nuclear trade with India.

The diplomats say some countries have reservations about waiving consortium rules that bar nuclear trade with states such as India that have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Washington needs the ban to be lifted so that it can move forward on a nuclear trade deal with India.