Indian and US delegations had met in London and exchanged ideas on the nuclear deal on May 21 and 22. The Indian delegation was led by S Jaishankar, Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, and the US delegation was led by Richard Stratford, director of Nuclear Energy, Safety and Security in the State Department. The two sides, according to MEA spokesperson, clarified certain concepts and exchanged ideas. Burns said the technical-level discussions which concluded yesterday had also witnessed a “lot of progress”.

Finalisation of the 123 agreement has been delayed due to differences on issues like reprocessing right, perpetuity of fuel supplies and continuance of the civil nuclear cooperation if India were to conduct an atomic test. The US official said India had sought certain clarifications on the Hyde Act passed by the Congress in December and these were being addressed in the ongoing negotiations.

“It is going to require a little hard work... There will be need for some compromises by both the sides to complete the deal,” the US Under Secretary said, adding both sides were keen to conclude the agreement. “I am confident we will do it.”