'Indo-US deal will make India a nuke power'

US Senator John Kerry said the deal cannot be seen only in the context of Indo-US bilateral relations.

Influential American Senator and former Democrat Presidential candidate John Kerry on Thursday voiced support for the Indo-US deal.

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According to Kerry, implementation of the Indo-US deal on civilian nuclear cooperation will mean grant of nuclear power status to India.

Kerry told a press conference here that the deal, with "enormous benefits" bilaterally, cannot be seen only in the context of Indo-US relations but had implications at the global level.

Kerry, a member of the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had told him during their meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday that India would sign the Fissile Material Control Treaty (FMCT).

"I will be disingenuous to suggest that if the (Indo-US) agreement (on civilian nuclear cooperation) comes through, it will not grant nuclear power status to India. Obviously, it does," he said.