IndiaPost.com - Bush speaks to pm to push N-deal

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON: Seeking to give a push at the highest political level to the civil nuclear deal, U S President George W Bush on Monday spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed efforts to iron out differences to work out a bilateral pact by this month-end. Bush’s telephonic call comes ahead of the visit of US Undersecretary Nicholas Burns amid expectations that the two sides could firm up the 123 agreement to operationalise the civil nuclear cooperation agreement reached in July, 2005.

After negotiations got bogged by hard positions, the two sides reported "extensive progress" at last week’s talks in Washington between Burns and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. India has been insisting on the right to reprocess spent fuel and perennial cooperation even if it were to conduct nuclear tests. Washington has strong objections on both counts.

"The two leaders expressed happiness at the strengthening of bilateral relations and reviewed developments pertaining to negotiations on bilateral civil nuclear cooperation," PM’s media adviser Sanjaya Baru said in a statement here. In Washington, White House spokesman Tom Snow said the two leaders "welcomed the recent progress in the civil nuclear cooperation initiative. They also agreed on the need for negotiations to conclude the bilateral agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation". Singh accepted Bush’s invitation to visit the US again and said a mutually convenient date would be worked out. The civil nuclear cooperation agreement was reached in July, 2005 when Singh traveled to Washington. A plan to separate India’s military and civilian nuclear facilities was firmed up during Bush’s visit here in March last year.

Burns was optimistic of the agreement being firmed up by the end of this month when he holds talks with Menon. The American President’s talk with Singh is also being seen as an attempt to clear the air following the political storm here over a strongly-worded letter to the Prime Minister by senior lawmakers like Tom Lantos, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Gary Ackerman, who is the Chair of the House Middle East and South Asia subcommittee, and others. Expressing deep concern over India’s "increasing cooperation" with Iran, the American lawmakers warned such ties could negatively impact bilateral ties in general and consideration by Congress of the bilateral 123 agreement in particular.

The two leaders discussed matters pertaining to the agenda of the G-8 Outreach Summit in Germany scheduled next month. Singh conveyed India’s commitment to work with other countries to deal with the problems of climate change and global warming, Baru said.