Last ditch efforts to save nuke deal

NEW DELHI: With time running out, Indian and US officials will meet in Washington early this week for a last ditch effort to tie up the elusive 123 agreement, which will clear the way for the landmark nuclear agreement to come into force.

A high-powered trio led by National Security Advisor MK Narayanan left for Washington on Sunday.

He is accompanied by foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and Anil Kakodkar,  boss of India’s Atomic Energy Commission. India’s ambassador Ronen Sen and Jaishankar, now the envoy in Singapore, will also be part of the crack team for the negotiations.

US national security advisor Stephen Hadley, the administrations pointsman for the deal Nicholas Burns and Richard Boucher make up the team on the other side.

The negotiations have reached a deadlock and unless it can be resolved this time, the agreement may become a footnote of history. Both governments are aware that this is a make or break meeting.

The fact that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called President George Bush last week to discuss the deal, is a pointer to the importance of this meeting.

The deal is stuck over New Delhi’s insistence of its rights tore process spent fuel. Washington, worried about the strong anti-proliferation lobby in the US, does not want to grant this right. However, Washington allows both Japan and Switzerland to reprocess  spent fuel.

Manmohan Singh needs the scientific community in India to endorse the 123 nuclear agreement. Anil Kakodkar’s go ahead is a must for any agreement to be clinched with the US.

If Kakodkar is satisfied, the scientific community will be rest assured that India’s indigenous programme will not suffer. India also wants to sweeten the pact by offering to be part of the US Container Security Initiative.