‘N-deal must come to US by May or it fails’

The key US Senate team visiting India said negotiations should wound up by May or New Delhi will not get a 'similar' deal.

Pressing India to speed up implementation of the nuclear agreement, three influential US Senators on Wednesday said the negotiations with IAEA and Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) should be wound up by May failing which New Delhi will not get a “similar” deal.

Senators Joseph Biden, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here, said if the deal is not taken up the US Congress by June and the process completed during the tenure of President George W Bush, any new US administration will “renegotiate” the deal.

They talked about the possibility of Indo-US relations being impacted if the deal does not go through, saying there could be “misunderstanding” in India and questions as to whether the failure was deliberate by the US Congress.

Story continues below this ad

During the meeting, the Prime Minister told them about the “dilemma” and “difficulties” of his government because of coalition but remained optimistic about concluding the deal, the Senators told a press conference in New Delhi.

“We are running out of time. The clock is running,” said Biden, Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee when asked what message they conveyed to Singh.

Biden said India will have to firm up the Safeguards agreement with IAEA and seek waiver from 45-nation NSG before June to enable the US Congress to vote on it.

“If the deal is not before the Senate by early June, there will be little chance (of the deal going through),” he said, adding there would be practical problems as the Congress ill have only 20 sittings during which issues related to US budget will dominate.