Blair phones Vajpayee over nuclear testing

BIRMINGHAM, England, May 15 Kyodo - British Prime Minister Tony Blair telephoned Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday afternoon to convey London's disappointment over India's recent nuclear tests, British government sources said. In a 10-minute telephone conversation, Blair called on India to start negotiations to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), the sources said, adding that Vajpayee promised to study the request. But Vajpayee said of the CTBT in New Delhi earlier in the day, ''There is no question of India accepting any treaty that is discriminatory in character.'' India resumed nuclear testing earlier this week after a 24-year hiatus, and Vajpayee declared Friday India has become a nuclear state with a ''big bomb.''