Israel will not undermine India's position on N deal with US: Envoy

New Delhi, Feb 8 (UNI) Israel has affirmed that it would not, under any circumstances, take an approach which might be ''untoward'' for India in securing the civilian nuclear deal with the US.

''Under no circumstances did Israel take an approach to cause anything which might be untoward vis-a-vis India. We actually spoke to the Indian government about it,'' Israeli Ambassador to India, Mark Sofer, said.

He denied that Israel had last year undermined India's case in securing the Indo-US nuclear agreement by presenting papers in Vienna to key members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), arguing for a criteria-based approach rather than a country-specific exemption which India is seeking.

Asked if India could help soften Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's stand against Israel, Mr Sofer said certain personalities could never be moderate.

''A President who has called for eradication of an entire country, a President who has denied the Holocaust, who has decided that the massacre of Jews by the Nazis did not exist, is this a person who can go towards moderation,'' the envoy said in the interview to Outlook weekly.

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