NEW DELHI, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- There are still differences between India and the United States on the civilian nuclear agreement, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Thursday.
"There is no question that both of us want to complete these negotiations but there are still some remaining differences between us," he said after a meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran. "And those differences need to be worked out."
Officials hope a deal can be worked out ahead of President Bush's visit to New Delhi early next month.
The key stumbling block in the deal struck between President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last summer in Washington is the fate of India's fast-breeder reactors. Washington wants these to be counted as civilian facilities, a move New Delhi says it is unwilling to consider.
Under the deal, which needs U.S. congressional approval, India will separate its civilian and defense nuclear facilities in exchange for civilian nuclear know how. It has said it will also assume the safeguards imposed on nuclear weapons states.
Although India possesses nuclear weapons, it is not a signatory to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Critics of the deal say giving India special treatment with regards to nuclear technology undercuts the NPT.
India signed a similar deal with France this week, a move that is likely to lead to French nuclear firms building reactors in India.
