The U.S. pressure on India to complete negotiations on a landmark nuclear energy deal by the end of May is a reflection of the U.S. legislative calendar, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Thursday.
The nuclear deal must be done quickly so that the U.S. lawmakers can possibly approve it this year, Casey said.
According to the New York Times on Thursday, a senior U.S. official visiting India on Wednesday gave India a three-month deadline to complete negotiations on the nuclear deal so that Congress could vote on the issue before its summer recess.
However, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declined to set a deadline for the politically contentious deal, the report said.
The United States and India reached a historic agreement on civil nuclear cooperation in March 2006, under which India will get access to U.S. civil nuclear technology, and open its nuclear facilities for inspection. However, the nuclear deal has met with strong opposition in both India and the United States.
Source:Xinhua
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