Menon to discuss nuclear deal in US
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon is to hold talks on Tuesday aimed at kickstarting a landmark nuclear cooperation deal with the US.
By Agencies |
WASHINGTON: Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon is to hold talks on Tuesday aimed at kickstarting a landmark nuclear cooperation deal with the US which has languished for almost two years.
The civilian nuclear agreement "is one of the issues which will be discussed tomorrow (Tuesday)" in talks with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, said embassy press attache Rahul Chhabra.
Menon, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, launched two days of talks here on Monday, meeting first with US under secretary of state for global affairs and democracy Paula Dobriansky.
The talks were described as "productive" and covering a range of issues from democratic values to environmental conservation, the State Department said in a statement afterwards.
But all eyes are on Tuesday's discussions, following US admissions earlier this month that Washington is becoming frustrated with the pace of the talks. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Monday that the United States would like to rapidly finalise the landmark civilian nuclear deal struck in July 2005.
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"We will get this deal done," McCormack said. "I think the meetings coming up over the next couple of weeks will give us a good indication of how quickly a deal can get done."He added the United States was interested in "what sort of ideas the Indian government comes to the table with," on the issue. Tuesday's talks will focus on the accord under which India won access to US nuclear fuel and technology for civilian use without requiring New Delhi to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty as required by US law.
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