Indo-US nuclear issue did figure at PM-Bush meeting: Menon

Berlin, June 8 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today held a ''short, pull-aside'' meeting with the US President George W Bush and had a ''positive conversation'' that may put the negotiations on the Indo-US nuclear deal back on the rails and get them going once again.

The nuclear issue ''did figure'' at the meeting held on the sidelines of the G8 summit at Heiligendamm, the Baltic sea resort 250 km north from here, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters.

The meeting lasted about 10 minutes, Mr Menon said, but refused to go into the details of the discussion, stating that it would not serve any purpose.

Asked where the two countries could go from here on the nuclear issue, he said both the sides were committed to resolving the differences on the deal which was ''doable and we hope to do it soon.'' At present, the two sides were assessing the negotiations held during the three-day visit of Bush administration's point man Nicholas Burns to Delhi about a week ago, he said.

The two leaders covered the ''entire range of relationship.'' But it was not a conversation where they could have gone into the details of every issue, he said.

''This is not a place where you negotiate issues and take decisions,'' Mr Menon explained.

Dr Singh began today's meeting by asking Mr Bush about his health as the US president had missed part of the morning session of the G8-G5 summit due to a stomach upset.

Mr Menon confirmed that National Security Advisor M K Narayanan had a meeting, also at the summit venue, with his US counterpart Stephan Hadley. He said he was not aware of the details as he was not present.

Dr Singh had a series of similar discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Nicolas Sarkozy of France and British Premier Tony Blair and a half-an-hour scheduled meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Mr Menon said the Prime Minister reviewed the bilateral relations with all the leaders and by and large all the leaders expressed satisfaction over the way things were moving on further strengthening of their ties with each other.

The Prime Minister had a ''walk with President Putin and met PM Blair,'' foreign office spokesman Navtej Sarna said.

''Given the nature of the function there (Heiligendamm), they are all pull-aside meetings. There is no facility for formal delegation level talks,'' the spokesman said.

The meeting with Mr Bush, who had missed the morning session of the summit due to some illness, had raised the hope that the seemingly stalled negotiations on the Indo-US nuclear deal would get going once again.

Dr Singh was at Heiligendamm to attend the G8 summit with the five outreach partners -- India, Brazil, China, Mexico and South Africa.

It could not be ascertained immediately whether the two leaders had asked the negotiating delegates to find a way out to overcome their differences, mainly on India's insistence on retaining the right to conduct further nuclear tests and reprocess the spent fuel and New Delhi's demand for a US guarantee for uninterrupted fuel supplies.

After the visit of Bush administration's point man and Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns' three-day talks with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and others in New Delhi a week ago, India and the US have acknowledged that tough negotiations are ahead for keeping the July 18, 2005 deal alive by signing the 123 agreement, necessary for implementing the proposed cooperation on the civilian side.

It is understood that India has come out with new ideas to resolve the spent fuel recycling problem and is expecting a positive response from the US.

Official circles had expected Mr Bush to appreciate some of India's suggestions and ask his side to find ways to accommodate them to the satisfaction of the critics keeping a close watch on the developments on the deal.

UNI