Reprocessing pact: PM says need to dot Is,cross some Ts

Despite efforts in the last few weeks to conclude an agreement on arrangements and procedures for reprocessing US-origin nuclear fuel...

Despite efforts in the last few weeks to conclude an agreement on arrangements and procedures for reprocessing US-origin nuclear fuel,India and the US fell short of their objective with differences still persisting on the kind of reporting requirements to be included in the agreement.

It was expected that a political push from both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama would clear the way for the two delegations to reach an agreed text. But sources said India felt that the commitments being put on the agreement did not accurately mirror those in the 123 agreement which was the bottomline for the Indian delegation led by senior Department of Atomic Energy official R B Grover.

At their joint press conference,Singh told reporters: Some Is need to be dotted and Ts have to be crossed. It will be done shortly. Obama,who in his opening remarks referred to India and US as nuclear powers,said: I reaffirmed to the Prime Minister my administrations commitment to fully implement the US-India civil nuclear agreement,which will increase American exports and create jobs in both countries.

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Last night,negotiators parted after three days of hectic talks that concluded on the mutual understanding that the text of the agreement will not deviate from the 123 agreement. Indias argument was that it has given a set of assurances on peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the overarching bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement and there could be no deviation from the template.

It is learnt that the US side led by State Departments expert on nuclear policy Richard Stratford wanted to include more reporting and certification requirements mandated by the US Atomic Energy Act. This proved to be intractable as both sides struggled to find the text and language that could serve each others purpose.

With the US finally agreeing to stick by the template of commitments in the 123 agreement,sources said an understanding could be reached in one more meeting. There was,however,some disappointment in the Indian camp because the PM was keen to conclude the remaining steps of the nuclear deal during this visit.