McCain, Obama support India nuke deal

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Both major-party U.S. presidential nominees say they want quick congressional action on a proposed civilian nuclear technology deal with India.

After intense lobbying from the administration of U.S. President George Bush, the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group voted last weekend to lift a nuclear materials import ban on India and allow it to buy fuels and equipment from U.S. suppliers. But the deal must be approved by Congress, Politico, a Washington publication, reported Wednesday.

McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, is strongly backing the deal and accused Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois of making moves in the U.S. Senate that could have derailed it.

"I supported it early on and without equivocation," McCain told Politico. "The same cannot be said of my opponent, who supported 'poison pill' amendments on the Senate floor that would have had the effect of killing this important agreement."

Obama, however, said he ultimately supported the deal, calling it "a positive development. I look forward to reviewing what the NSG has agreed in Vienna and urge the administration to submit the U.S-India Agreement for Civil Nuclear Cooperation to the Congress quickly," he said.