Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met President Bush and pressed for "permanent reconciliation" of issues related to the N-deal.
V Mohan Narayan
ST PETERSBURG: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday told US President George W Bush that India has some worrying concerns on the proposed US legislation granting waivers for nuclear commerce and pressed for permanent reconciliation of these issues.
"There are some concerns which worry us and worry our Parliament. We are a democracy and we are accountable to Parliament which zealously keeps a watch on what we do and what we do not do," Singh said during his meeting with the US
leader at the heavily guarded Konstantinovsky Palace complex here.
At the 40-minute meeting on the sidelines of the G-8 summit, Singh also sought Bush's continued personal support for the successful conclusion of the civil nuclear deal.
"I deeply appreciate your involvement. There are some concerns which worry us. I sincerely believe that we can find constructive solutions to all these issues," Singh said.
Recalling his visit to India in March this year, Bush said the nuclear deal was being worked through the Congress. "Our Congress is working on that important piece of
legislation that will encourage and allow cooperation between India and US, and I am optimistic we'll get that passed," Bush told Singh.
Referring to the July 18, 2005 agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, Bush said, "I look forward to this wonderful deal you and I negotiated moving ahead."
This was the first meeting between Singh and Bush, who is here for the summit of eight industrialised nations, since the US President's visit to India.
The Prime Minister conveyed India's serious concerns over cross-border terrorism as also the need for Pakistan to honour its pledge to dismantle terror infrastructure in its territory.
Singh thanked Bush for his support and solidarity extended to India in the wake of the Mumbai train blasts and the grenade attacks in Srinagar last week that killed over 200 people and injured more than 700.
On his part, Bush condemned terrorism anywhere and everywhere in the world. He spoke of the rising concerns in the Middle East as well as the issues relating to Iran and Syria.
The Singh-Bush interaction came close on the heels of the International Relations Committee of the US House of Representatives and the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate giving their nod to the nuclear deal, which would pave the way for nuclear supplies to Indian reactors.
New Delhi has made it clear that it will not accept any legal binding to its voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing and also not make any compromise on its strategic
programme.
India and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had earlier this month held "productive" talks in the Indian capital on the proposed safeguards agreement that is
required to be put in place to allow the world community to resume nuclear trade with New Delhi.
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