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Saturday, Aug 18, 2007
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U.S. rules out renegotiation of 123 agreement

NEW DELHI: The U.S. has ruled out renegotiation of the civil nuclear deal with India amid demands here that the agreement be worked out afresh.

“We cannot renegotiate it because the [123] agreement is done. Neither government wishes it to be renegotiated because it is now complete,” U.S. Under-Secretary Nicholas Burns told Outlook magazine in an interview.

His assertion came in the midst of a mounting attack on the Government here by the Left allies and the Opposition parties which are demanding renegotiation of the agreement and opposing operationalisation of the deal.

“123 agreement conforms to Hyde Act”

Asked how the differences between the Hyde Act and the 123 agreement would be reconciled on the issue of reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, Mr. Burns said: “I am absolutely confident that the 123 agreement conforms [to the Hyde Act] in all ways.”

India has said the Act contains certain “extraneous and prescriptive” elements which are not acceptable to it.

On the Left criticism of the deal, Mr. Burns said he did not want to respond to it because that would amount to getting involved in Indian politics.

“So, I don’t have any particular message for them except to say that in the 21st century we have seen the global balance of forces shifting. That it is in the common interest of India and the U.S. to be partners, certainly on the effort to bring peace and stability in South and East Asia,” he said. — PTI

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