By IANS
New Delhi : India and the US are "nearing the end" of civil nuclear negotiations as they get ready for another round of talks on a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation pact July 16, US envoy David C. Mulford said here Wednesday.
"We are nearing the end of the road (on civil nuclear negotiations). These are complex negotiations," Mulford told reporters at The American Centre on the sidelines of the celebrations to mark the American Independence Day.
Underlining the intricacies of issues that needed to be resolved before the two sides can clinch bilateral nuclear pact, also called 123 agreement, the US envoy stressed that negotiations are "highly complex" both from the political and technical points of view.
"It's not easy. You are talking about one of the most technically complex negotiations. If it were easy, we could have done a long time ago," Mulford said.
In his Independence Day speech, the envoy said the US saw India as a "natural partner" with which it shares common values of liberty, democracy, tolerance and diversity, not as an ally.
National Security Adviser (NSA) M.K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon will visit Washington July 16 to sort out issues relating to the 123 agreement with US NSA Stephen Hadley and Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns.
The two sides are expected to resolve the impasse over India's insistence on getting prior US consent for reprocessing of US-origin or US-obligated fuel — which Washington is not ready to grant yet.
During informal talks between the two sides on the margins of the G8 summit in Germany last month, India had suggested setting up a standalone facility for reprocessing spent fuel and placing it under international safeguards as a way to break the deadlock over the reprocessing issue.
India is also expected to insist on getting iron clad fuel supply guarantees from the US for the imported reactors. The 123 agreement will pave the way for the resumption of civil nuclear commerce between the two countries.