By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : The Bush administration has started briefing members of the US Congress on the just concluded 123 agreement to implement the civil nuclear deal with India which it says complies with US laws.
Washington's chief interlocutor on the deal, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, is leading the briefings for members of the Congress, which must approve the agreement named after section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act before the deal is implemented.
"There are going to be some briefings today up on the (Capitol) Hill as well and then tomorrow, we're going to be talking in public about all of this," State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said Thursday.
"But bottom line, we believe that this is the right deal for the US national interest, for our relationship with India, as well as for addressing our concerns about non-proliferation globally."
Burns, who will also brief the media Friday, has said, "We're very satisfied because we know the agreement is well within the bounds of the Hyde Act" — passed by Congress last December approving the deal in principle.
New Delhi also needs to sign an India specific additional protocol with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for inspections of its 14 designated civilian nuclear facilities as also persuade the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group to changes its rules.
Apart from the briefings starting now, there have been some discussions with some members of Congress all throughout the process, McCormack said. "So this has been a process of negotiations where we've been working with the Indian government, but we've also been back briefing the Hill."
"Typically with these sorts of things, you brief a selected membership on both sides of the aisle who have the most direct oversight responsibility or leadership responsibilities. I think that's a pretty typical practice here in Washington," he explained.
Asked if the agreement had some secret clause, McCormack said he didn't know. "I'm not sure if there is anything classified to it. I'm not aware that there is. I don't know what our agreements are with the Indians in terms of publishing a text of it."
McCormack also did not offer any comment on a letter to President George Bush by 23 members of the House of Representatives warning that "any inconsistencies between the so-called 123 agreement and US laws would put final Congressional approval of the deal in doubt".
"If the 123 agreement has been intentionally negotiated to sidestep or bypass the law and the will of Congress, final approval for this deal will be jeopardised," said Edward Markey, a known critic of the India deal leading the group.