The Hindu : Front Page : Bush hopes deal will be done in his tenure

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Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008
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Bush hopes deal will be done in his tenure

WASHINGTON: United States President George W. Bush is “hopeful” of being able to push the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal through Congress before his term ends in January next year, the White House said on Monday.

“We will work with Congress to get this agreement approved. We are hopeful,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

To a query, the official declined to specifically say that a future nuclear test by India will nullify the agreement, but added that “India knows what the international reaction to a test will be.”

Rice lauds India

Terming the waiver granted to India by the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers group (NSG) as a “huge step” in the relationship between the U.S. and India, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice complimented the role played by the Indian government .

Speaking to journalists in Algiers on Saturday, Ms. Rice said India showed a lot of leadership skills in Vienna, where everybody took everyone else’s concerns seriously and found the ways to bridge it.

“I just wanted to come back and say how pleased I am to have received the news of the conclusion of the NSG discussions, and therefore, the passing of an exemption for India. This is an important step forward. I have to say that India showed a lot of leadership.” “We got lot of help from the Indian government to make this possible, but also from a number of delegations that worked very closely with us. And I think that it is a really very big step forward for the non-proliferation framework.” — PTI

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