By NNN-PTI,
Washington : The Bush administration hopes to present the Indo-US nuclear deal to the US Congress on September 8 for approval and is “positive” of getting the nod from the NSG later this month, a senior official has said.
“….Hopefully, we’ll be able to represent this to Congress on September 8”, the Acting US State Department Spokesman Gonzalo Gonzales said here yesterday.
He said the US was looking forward to discussing the Indo-US civilian nuclear initiative with the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which is expected to meet in Vienna on August 21.
“…We’ve stated often… Our support for this deal and the belief that it’s important not only for the bilateral relationship but also for nuclear security in the rest of the world.
“But now that the IAEA has voted, we’re going to look to discuss this issue with the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. We’re hoping to get a positive result out of that some time in the next month,” Gonzales said.
“And then, hopefully, we’ll be able to represent this to Congress on September 8,” he added in a reference to the date lawmakers are returning for their session after the summer recess period.
The senior State department official was asked if the Bush administration would be able to have this initiative finished by Congress by the time it wraps up the session on September 26.