Talks on concluding civil nuclear deal enters key phase

WASHINGTON: The talks on an agreement to operationalise the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal entered a crucial stage on Wednesday with negotiators trying hard to iron out differences over contentious issues like reprocessing.

Amid keen interest on both sides to conclude the deal as early as possible, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan held talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice here.

The meeting came a day ahead of the delegation-level talks led by Narayanan and his US counterpart Stephen Hadley in the White House.

Both sides are tight-lipped about the content of the discussion apparently to avoid any impact on the negotiating process which is in a crucial phase.

Several rounds of talks on the 123 agreement have failed to yield any result due to differences on the issues like reprocessing right for India and future of the deal if New Delhi were to conduct a nuclear test.

As officials met here, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in New Delhi that the negotiations were in the "last leg" but refused to predict by when the agreement would be firmed up.

"We are in last leg of negotiations," Singh told reporters when asked about the status of the talks on 123 agreement, that will operationalise the civil nuclear deal.

Asked by when the agreement was expected to be finalised, the Prime Minister said "I can't say."

US officials said a couple of "tough issues" were left to be resolved but the deal was within reach.