NPR: Indian PM Tells Bush Nuclear Deal in Trouble

Indian PM Tells Bush Nuclear Deal in Trouble

When negotiations on a nuclear deal between India and the United States were completed in July, the Bush administration called the agreement historic. But in the months since, opposition has grown in India. Now, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is hinting that the deal might not happen.

Singh told President Bush that he is having "certain difficulties" finalizing the deal. Communist parties that are key to keeping Singh's government alive have been telling him that they don't want closer ties to the United States.

The deal, first developed in 2005, would give India access to key technologies that could help solve its growing demand for energy while allowing the country to keep its nuclear weapons. The U.S. sees it as a way to bring India, which has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, into the international mainstream on atomic issues.

In a meeting last week, Singh told the left-wing parties that he would continue talking with them and that he would hold off on negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the deal, which also requires an agreement with the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group. But Singh also said it would be "not the end of life" if the deal didn't go through, ending widespread speculation about early elections because of the conflict.

On Morning Edition, Somini Sengupta of The New York Times told Steve Inskeep that there is an enormous amount at stake for both the U.S. and Singh. For the Bush administration, an important foreign policy victory could be undermined, while India could see its desire to be taken seriously as a nuclear power set back. Sengupta said the problems speak to the fragile nature of India's coalition government.

9:41 AM ET | 10-16-2007 | permalink

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