Burns to update India on status of N-deal

Nicholas Burns, US under secretary of state for political affairs and the chief negotiator of the US-India civilian nuclear agreement, will meet Shiv Shankar Menon, the new Indian foreign secretary, for the first time when he visits New Delhi November 6.

Burns and Menon have spoken on the phone after the latter took over from Shyam Saran last month. Saran will continue to be India's point man for the nuclear deal. Menon was, till recently, India's high commissioner to Pakistan.

Officials told rediff India Abroad that they are confident that Burns and Menon would hit it off, develop the kind of rapport Burns and Saran enjoyed over the past two years.

Besides India, Burns is also slated to visit Pakistan and Afghanistan during a one-week swing through the region during which he will continue the dialogue between the US and these three countries as part of a broader strategic partnership. Washington wants all three nations to also be partners in the global war, the way they are in military, economy and politics.

The officials said it was likely that Burns will update Menon and Saran about the status of the enabling legislation to facilitate the nuclear deal, which both the Senate Majority and Minority leaders, Senators Bill Frist and Harry Reid, have promised to take up during the session after the November 7 Congressional elections.

Saran is also likely to discuss the importance of quickly completing the bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation agreement -- known as the 123 Agreement -- which many lawmakers want to review before voting on the second-part of the two-pronged enabling legislation. Only after both the Senate and the House agree on a compromise can the final legislation be enacted. That legislation envisages the transfer of civilian nuclear reactors and nuclear technologies to India.

Last month, Burns told rediff India Abroad he has regularly conversed with Saran and hoped to "get our negotiating teams very soon back in Delhi."

"There are a lot of different issues here that remain outstanding, but I am confident we can bring them all to a close," Burns said, "We resolved the major issues in the negotiations leading up to the President's visit to Delhi. I have always looked at the bilateral agreement as a difficult agreement but [it is] essentially a codification of what we've already agreed."

"I think we are past the most difficult phase of negotiations. I believe we can now be successful in the bilateral talks," he said.