N-deal debate will have to play its course: US

WASHINGTON: The debate and discussions in India over the civilian nuclear deal will have to play its course and it is best that this process takes place without the involvement of third parties, especially the US, a senior American official has said.

Emphasising that the Indo-US deal is in the interest of both the countries, Richard Boucher, the top official in charge of South and Central Asia, hoped that "they will go through this (debate) and continue towards implementation".

"The whole goal here is Indian kids can turn on the lights to do their homework. The sooner we get there, the sooner they are going to be able to turn on their lights."

"The debate in Indian Parliament and between the Indian political parties is one that probably best proceeds without the involvement of outsiders and without comment from the American Assistant Secretary of State," he said in an interactive session at the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.

"The deal is a deal. We have been very public and transparent about how this was done and the understandings that have been reached. They are going to have this work in the politics of India. We will see how this plays out."

Boucher said there are a few more "hurdles down the road" and a key one is India's negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency on a safeguards agreement.

"But it is important to remember that India already has safeguard agreements with the IAEA on a number of its civilian nuclear facilities. There are examples and models. So we don't think that it is an enormously difficult negotiation for them," he maintained.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com