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India, US working hard to sign nuke deal

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New Delhi, Feb 24, IRNA
India-US-Burns
India and the United States are working "very hard" to conclude a nuclear agreement, but there are "some more work" to be done.

As intense negotiations between India and the US on the nuclear deal continues for the second day today, American Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said: "There is a goodwill by both governments and a commitment by President George W Bush to see the July 18 deal through towards a conclusion," as he talked to reporters here after meeting Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma.

"We are working very hard on this agreement on both sides...We have some more work to do," he said before going for another round of talks with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran.

He expressed hope progress will be made in the remaining part of his talks with Saran.

Noting that the two countries have been "active" for the last 11 months in getting this deal done, the US official said "there have been unique negotiations, very challenging."
Burns had, yesterday, said that "some differences" still remained between the two sides and that he was not sure whether the agreement would be concluded before Bush's visit here next week.

In the last ditch effort to conclude the agreement before Bush's visit here, Saran and Burns are meeting for the third round of talks here to iron out differences on the deal on which the US says "90 per cent" of negotiations have been completed.

The two sides had encountered "difficulties" over the issue of separation, with the US insisting that India put more reactors than it was ready into the civilian side. These includes the home-grown fast breeder reactors (FBRs), a move opposed by New Delhi.

Both countries are now understood to have expressed readiness to show flexibility on their respective positions.

Burns and Saran also gave final touches to Bush's itinerary and the agenda of talks between the US president and the Prime Minister.

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