New Delhi, June 1
It became increasingly apparent this evening that differences still persist between India and the USA on their bilateral 123 agreement and the top leadership of the two countries will have to intervene to operationalise the civil nuclear cooperation.

The hectic rounds of discussions the visiting under secretary of state Nicholas Burns had with the Indian political leaders and officials failed to yield a breakthrough, though both sides exuded confidence that the negotiations were on right track and the deal was very much doable.

Apart from holding delegation-level talks with foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon and his technical team, Burns also held separate meetings with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma and national security adviser M.K. Narayanan today.

It is believed that the negotiations are still stuck in the four-plus-one-issue groove and nobody gave an indication whether the differences had been narrowed down, and if so, to what extent. Till this evening even this was not confirmed whether Burns and Menon would be holding a press conference tomorrow, the last day of Burns’ stay here.

The four-plus-one issues are: (i) Indian rights for reprocessing spent fuel, (ii) further nuclear testing by India, (iii) uninterrupted fuel supplies from the USA to India, (iv) whether New Delhi will have to return all material to the USA in the event of fresh nuclear tests by India, and (v) New Delhi’s concern whether the 123 agreement will entail any intrusive inspections from Americans or others into Indian facilities.

Anand Sharma told The Tribune this evening that both sides were staying engaged and had met at different places like Washington, London and on the sidelines of the NSG meeting in Cape Town and “substantial progress had been achieved”.

Asked if the differences still persisted, Sharma dodged. When the same question was put in a different format - whether there was any breakthrough? - Sharma, like a seasoned politician which he is, declined to take a call on the question. He said the negotiations were highly technical, complex and sensitive.

“There is definitely a sincere wish on part of both the sides to achieve the goals set by the Joint Statement of July 18, 2005,” the minister said.

Burns himself sounded optimistic and cautious at the same time when he told reporters that his talks were going well.

“I think both of us understand how important is this agreement to our relationship. It is without any doubt in the best interest of both of the countries. It is mutually advantageous and there is no question in my mind that with continued hard work and good spirit, we can reach a final agreement and I look forward to that,” Burns said.

Burns also said that he had “good discussions” with Menon and Prime Minister’s special envoy on the nuclear issue Shyam Saran yesterday.

“Both of us (India and USA) understand how important this agreement is to our relationship,” Burns said, adding “it is without any question in the best interests of both the countries.”

David Kennedy, spokesman for the US embassy here, said Burns had “good talks” and “good meetings” today as well.

“Nicholas Burns is certainly very optimistic that the deal is doable. He has said so. That’s why he is here.”