Asserting that Bush administration wanted to cooperate with India in the civil nuclear area, Economic Counselor in the United States Embassy Lee Brudvig Tuesday said a campaign to gain popular support in this regard would be mounted in the United States.
"The US government has decided that it is willing to approach Congress to make arrangements, if possible, for India to be given an exception status," he said at a panel discussion on 'Prime Minister Manomohan Singh's visit to the US: New Directions in Indo-US Relations' at the American Center in Kolkata.
"In order to do that, we have to mount a campaign to convince people that the US is not walking away from its commitment against proliferation, it is not walking away from its support of the existing treaties and regime that we live with, but it is finding a practical exception for an important country that has already met the standards that are required," Brudvig said.
In order to do what US President George W Bush wished to do, the administration needed to go to the Congress and successfully obtain a change of law, he said.
Referring to steps to take the Indo-US relations to new heights, Brudvig mentioned delisting Indian entities from controls list, addressing India's concerns on Proliferation Security Initiative, endorsing India's membership in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and urging the Nuclear Suppliers' Group to re-evaluate views on India.
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