With India virtually putting the Indo-US nuclear deal on hold in view of Left's reservations, Washington has hoped that New Delhi would continue its efforts to implement the agreement "in a time that is appropriate for both sides".
Without disclosing the details of the conversation US President George W Bush had with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday, the State Department said the deal was "positive" and "good" for both the countries as well as for the broader efforts of non-proliferation.
"... It's up to the Government of India to talk about their efforts. Again, I think we're going to continue to work on our part and we assume they're going to continue to work on theirs and it'll be done in a time that is appropriate for both sides," Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey told reporters after the two leaders spoke over the phone.
Asserting that the US continues to support the agreement, the spokesman said one of things the Indian Government needed to do on its side to implement the agreement was to work with the IAEA and establish a safeguards arrangement.
"On our side, we'd of course need to work out an appropriate arrangement with the Nuclear Suppliers Group. And certainly we want to see that we get accomplished. But again in terms of the timing and the discussions internally within the Indian political system, I'll leave that to them," Casey said.
{{/usCountry}}"On our side, we'd of course need to work out an appropriate arrangement with the Nuclear Suppliers Group. And certainly we want to see that we get accomplished. But again in terms of the timing and the discussions internally within the Indian political system, I'll leave that to them," Casey said.
{{/usCountry}}"...I think what you can assume from that is that we continue to support this agreement...," the senior US State Department official noted.