Facing timelines, India and the United States on Monday waffled on the civilian nuclear deal with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee saying there is some 'political problem' domestically and US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice asserting Washington will continue to work on it.
"We are interested in implementing the landmark agreement reached. But now we have some political problem. Currently we are engaged in the process of resolving it," Mukherjee told reporters after a 30-minute meeting in Washington with Rice.
The minister is expected to have a separate meeting with President George W Bush.
Mukherjee, who is on his maiden bilateral visit to Washington as external affairs minister, said his government is engaged in discussions with various political parties.
Conveying Washington's desire to take the deal forward, Rice said it is a "landmark agreement which is good for both sides. We will continue to work on that agreement".
On negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency on India-specific safeguards agreement, Mukherjee said the discussions are over. "The agreement is yet to be initialised and approved by the board of governors of the IAEA," he said.
India needs to firm up the agreement with the IAEA and secure changes in the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers' Group to enable nuclear commerce with it.
The Left parties, stoutly opposing the deal in its present form, have threatened to withdraw support to the government if steps were taken to operationalise it.
The US has nudged India into concluding the agreement with the IAEA and seek NSG waiver by May to give the Congress time to have a final vote on the deal.
During his recent visit to India, assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher said time was 'very tight' and there is lot of work to be done.
The Left parties have also raised concerns over the Hyde Act, which they feel would restrict India's strategic nuclear programme.
Washington, on the other hand, has made it clear that the 'domestic' legislation would have to be taken into account in operation of the civil nuclear cooperation.
Concerns were heightened after Rice said in February that changes in the NSG guidelines will have to be 'completely consistent with the obligations of the Hyde Act'. She had said that Washington would not support India's case if it was contrary to the Hyde Act.
The US government has maintained, however, that India would not be bound by the Hyde Act, which contains some 'prescriptive and extraneous elements'.
New Delhi has argued vehemently that India's rights and obligations on civil nuclear cooperation came only from the 123 Agreement.
Monday's meeting was devoted to regional affairs, Rice said, adding discussions would continue over dinner. "We have a lot more to talk about," she said.
Mukherjee complemented Rice for transforming Indo-US relations, and spoke of growing bilateral relations in the realm of trade, agriculture and science and technology. There is also 'momentum in defence ties and peaceful exploration of outer space,' Mukherjee said.
"We agreed to maintain the positive momentum," he said, in reference to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the US and President George W Bush's India visit.
Mukherjee also called for closer working relations between the External Affairs Ministry and the US State Department.
Image: External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice after their bilateral meeting on Monday in Washington.
Photograph: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images
