VIENNA, Austria – India pledged Friday not to engage in a new arms race as talks continued in Vienna over whether to let the U.S. sell India nuclear material and technology for civilian use.

It remained unclear whether Washington would win its push to get a waiver on a nuclear trade ban.

More than a dozen nations have balked at the deal, pointing out that India has conducted atomic test blasts and has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

In New Delhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said his country remained committed to a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing. He said India would not touch off a new arms race or share sensitive nuclear technology with others.

“We do not subscribe to any arms race, including a nuclear arms race,” Mukherjee said. “We have always tempered the exercise of our strategic autonomy with a sense of global responsibility. We affirm our policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons.”

Acting U.S. Undersecretary of State John Rood, who specializes in arms control issues, told reporters that Washington remained “confident and optimistic” that it would hammer out a compromise.

Rood said there was “positive momentum,” but the talks dragged into Friday evening with no sign of a breakthrough.

The talks were convened by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which governs the legal trade in nuclear components and technology. Thursday's session was inconclusive.

The Bush administration has been racing to get approval from the nuclear group and the U.S. Congress before lawmakers recess for the rest of the year to devote time to their re-election campaigns.

U.S. officials contend that selling peaceful nuclear technology to India would bring the country's atomic program under closer scrutiny and boost – not undermine – international nonproliferation efforts.

Some delegates signaled that the talks were close to reaching a compromise agreement, though they offered no details.

But opposing countries, including Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland, have expressed fears that a reversal of more than three decades of U.S. policy toward India could set a dangerous precedent in the struggle to discourage other nations from pursuing weapons of mass destruction.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, played down India's latest pledge to refrain from further nuclear testing.

“No ... Indian national statement on its nonproliferation commitments can substitute for clear and unambiguous restrictions and conditions for NSG trade with India,” Kimball said.

China also urged caution earlier this week, saying the peaceful use of nuclear energy must be balanced against concerns about possible weapons development.

Adding intrigue to the Vienna talks was a secret Bush administration letter released this week by congressman Howard Berman, which said Washington has the right to immediately halt nuclear trade with India if it were to conduct an atomic test blast.

India had insisted that nothing in the plan would ban it from future tests, and the letter threatened to undermine the Indian government's position at home.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has already approved the proposed U.S. nuclear trade deal, and Mukherjee said Friday that India would push to sign side agreements with the U.N. nuclear watchdog that would give the agency broader powers to inspect its atomic facilities.

Associated Press Writer Ashok Sharma in New Delhi contributed to this report.

---