India,US set to sort out spent fuel issue

With these two steps having been taken,the only remaining element from the nuclear deal was the agreement on reprocessing arrangements. An extra push was given to the talks after an inconclusive third round earlier this month. A fourth round was hurriedly arranged in Washington from Friday. Though these talks are still underway,sources said differences had been whittled down to one or two resolvable issues.

It’s reliably learnt that the PM took the lead in ensuring that the last stretch of the nuclear deal is completed faster than expected. A former PMO official Venkatesh Verma,who was associated with nuclear deal last year,was flown in specially to Washington to help conclude the negotiations due to his expertise in the subject. According to the 123 agreement,the two sides were to complete the reprocessing agreement within a stipulated one-year period from the commencement of talks.

But if it materialises next week,the agreement would have been accomplished in less than six months. Moreover,it would also send a strong signal about the Obama Administration’s commitment to the nuclear deal which had come under doubt because of Obama’s thrust on non-proliferation and disarmament issues.

To some extent,sources said,this will also help narrow the trust deficit due to the Tarapur deal in which India was not allowed to reprocess spent fuel even though there were no legal obstacles to it.

Under this agreement,India will set up a dedicated and fully safeguarded reprocessing facility for foreign-origin fuel. The agreement will spell out the arrangements and procedures so that there is enough assurance against proliferation.

The progress on this front,sources said,will also help improve confidence levels among both sides,particularly after the outburst in New Delhi on the reference to Indo-Pak talks in the US-China joint statement. While China is said to have officially clarified to India that it respects the Indian position,top sources made it clear that India will not accept “guardianship” on this from any third country.