Amidst the political turmoil in India, the United States has said it was committed to Indo-US nuclear deal and if New Delhi moves forward, Washington will do "whatever it can" to fulfill its commitments.
"The position of the United States government is, we are committed to this (Indo-US nuclear) deal," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at his briefing in Washinton.
"If the Indian government completes the discussions it has been having about moving forward on a variety of different fronts regarding this deal, the United States government has committed to doing whatever it can to fulfill its commitments here domestically," he said.
The spokesman was responding to a query on a report in The Washington Post that made the point that although hurdles may have been crossed in India, the deal faces difficulty in Congress on account of the time factor and in the stipulations of the enabling legislation, the Hyde Act of 2006.
"Now, of course, we have the Congress, but we have the Congress to work with on this issue. They have an important role to play in it. But we have been in close contact with the Congress and key members of Congress on this issue really throughout this period to keep them updated on it," he added.
"And there are, of course, other aspects to the agreement that would require actions by others, for example, the IAEA," McCormack said.
"That is not under our control," he replied when asked about the prospect of a Lame Duck session of the 110th Congress. "That is solely under the control of the leadership in Congress," he added.
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