WASHINGTON, July 17: The US and India on Tuesday concluded the second day of four-day talks aimed at bridging their differences over a nuclear agreement once heralded as a historic deal.
Secretary of State for Defence Robert Gates led the US side in the opening talks while National Security Adviser M K Narayanan led the Indian team. The high-level Indian delegation also includes Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and Chairman of Department of Atomic Energy, Anil Kakodkar.
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, the chief US negotiator for the deal, also attended the opening talks along with US National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.
The four-day talks are scheduled to conclude on Friday but could be extended if the two sides see some progress, diplomatic sources said. Both sides are refusing to discuss the precise nature of their talks, although both said that they exchanged frank and candid views on bilateral defence cooperation and regional and other security issues.
Besides attending official talks, members of the Indian delegation are also holding individually meetings with senior US officials to convey India’s point of view on the differences over the nuclear deal.
Apparently, the Indians are asking Washington to show some flexibility to facilitate the conclusion of the 123 Agreement, called so after section 123 of a US law which defines the exact terms and conditions for a nuclear deal with another state.
The 123 negotiations began in November 2006 but encountered a roadblock over India’s refusal to accept some restrictions included in the draft.
The draft stipulates that the deal will automatically terminate if India conducts more nuclear tests and also places limits on India’s right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from the plants it will receive from the US.
Already four rounds of formal negotiations and numerous meetings on the sidelines of multilateral fora have taken place on the 123-agreement.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, expected to visit New Delhi in August, may announce the conclusion of the deal in the Indian capital.
The US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said over the weekend that Washington is ready to resolve the remaining outstanding issues with India over the nuclear deal.
