US Defence Secretary turn to say: deal clock ticking

U S Secretary of Defence Robert Gates today said he has conveyed it to the Indian leadership that while Washington understands the domestic political compulsions of the UPA government on the nuclear deal, it is important to realise that the "clock is ticking" in the US as this is an election year and the Senate needs time to ratify the agreement.

"I said we are respectful of the domestic political situation here. But the clock is ticking in terms of how much time is available to get all the different aspects of the agreement implemented," he said at a select media interaction after concluding his two-day visit to India during which he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition L K Advani, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony.

Underlining that the civilian nuclear agreement "serves the interest of both countries", Gates said: "The real key here is providing time for our Senate to ratify the final arrangement. This being an election year, there is an open question of how long the Senate will be in session beyond the summer and September."

But he emphasised that the Indo-US relationship was "a wide ranging one" and among the few issues in US foreign relations policy with bipartisan support, which is unlikely to change after the US presidential polls. In this context, he also felt that the relationship will continue


To read the full aricle, click here...

To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.indianexpress.com