Bush hopeful of nuke deal's Congressional approval

Washington, Sep 9 (UNI) President George W Bush is ''hopeful'' of securing Congressional approval for the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement before the end of his term in January, US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

Mr Johndroe said, ''We will work with the Congress to get this agreement approved. We're hopeful,'' he added.

Declining to confirm explicitly that any Indian nuclear weapons' test would void the agreement, he said, ''India knows what the international reaction to a test will be.'' President Bush has welcomed the approval by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to lift nuclear trade embargo against India, the spokesman added.

UNI XC SKB HS1044