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- by Parinda Bureau, January 28, 2006, 11:17 IST
US has said that India and the United States are very close to an agreement on civilian nuclear energy cooperation but towards the end of the negotiating process "some of the most difficult issues arise."
"...it's my assessment, and I'm the one negotiating this for six months, is that we're very close to an agreement.
Often in negotiations when you get to the end, some of the most difficult issues arise," Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said.
"I think we've made some progress. I think we need to see further progress. There are a few issues. And I shouldn't go into them because they should remain confidential, but remain barriers to an agreement. I don't believe they're insuperable," he said.
"It is very hard to say," Burns said when asked if the deal would be finished by the time the President George W Bush visited India in March.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bush agreed on the basic outline of the civil nuclear cooperation in Washington in July last year and the two countries had hoped to conclude the pact before the President's visit.
"Our hope has been that we'll be able to conclude a bilateral agreement on civil nuclear cooperation...that would happen as soon as possible. And that might happen before the President's visit. That remains our plan and I have been in touch with the Indian government this week," he said.
Referring to the controversy over the comments of the American Ambassador David Mulford, Burns stressed that as a soverign country India is obviously going to act based on its national interests and Washington respected this.
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