'Relax, Indo-US N deal will come through' : Talbott tells India

New Delhi, Sept 18 (UNI) The Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal will sail through the US Congress but the most likely hurdle will be the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), of which China is a member, former US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott said today.

''Relax. Everything is going to be fine. It is going to sail through the US Congress...Relations between India and the US are on extremely solid footing,'' Mr Talbott said in an address on the 'US Foreign Policy in the Presidential Election Season.' He said there was no opposition to the deal in the US. The only opposition could come from within India as there were some elements here who had some doubts. But it was important to understand the working of democracies in both countries, Mr Talbott, who is now President of a US-based think tank, said.

Praising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA government for handling the matter seriously, he also credited the former NDA government for laying the groundwork for the deal.

Mr Talbot has held 13 rounds of discussions with former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh.

He said that whatever the outcome of the 2008 Presidential elections, there would be a President of the US who would be committed to Indo-US friendship. In this context, the nuclear deal would not be an issue during the Congressional or Presidential elections.

Apprehending opposition from the NSG, specifically China, Mr Talbott said China could raise the question of India's exemption from the NPT and mention the case of any other country (Pakistan).

However, Pakistan had a ''lousy'' record of nuclear proliferation.

''That is going to be very tricky,'' he added.

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