Singh, Bush discuss nuclear deal

US, President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed the U.S.-India nuclear cooperation deal on Monday amid signs the controversial pact is in political trouble in India.

The two leaders who signed the nuclear agreement in July 2005 spoke by telephone in a conversation that also covered world trade talks and the crackdown on pro-democracy activists in military-ruled Myanmar, National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.

Johndroe gave no details on what Singh and Bush said about the nuclear agreement, which would allow India to import U.S. nuclear fuel and reactors although India has tested nuclear weapons and not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

A statement posted on India's Washington embassy Web site said the prime minister had explained to Bush "that certain difficulties have arisen with respect to the operationalization" of the nuclear cooperation agreement.

In India, the Singh government's communist allies had threatened to withdraw crucial parliamentary support if it pressed ahead with the deal.

In a meeting last week, the Singh government agreed to continue talks with the left, and put on hold negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency that are crucial to the deal, which also needs to get through the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Washington, Tuesday, Reuters