Talks with IAEA over, says Govt

DH News Service, New Delhi:

Negotiation with the IAEA has been completed Mukherjee said, when asked about the status of negotiations with the international nuclear watchdog panel on the India-specific safeguards agreement which is necessary for operationising the Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement.

Three days after its Left partners set the March 15 deadline for convening the UPA-Left panel on the nuclear deal, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday disclosed that the negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on India-specific safeguards agreement were over. Negotiation with the IAEA “has been completed” Mukherjee told mediapersons here, when asked about the status of negotiations with the international nuclear watchdog panel on the India-specific safeguards agreement which is necessary for operationising the Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement. Mukherjee said that the UPA-Left panel meeting would be convened soon to brief the leaders, presumably on the draft of the agreement reached with the IAEA. He is also convener of the UPA-Left panel on the deal that was set up last November to iron out differences.