'US to make sure nuclear liability doesn't become an irritant'

US-INDIA
 
       From Lalit K Jha
       Washington, Jul 23 (PTI) The US would make sure that
 the issue of nuclear liability does not become an irritant in
 its relationship with India, a top State Department official
 has said.
       "It is not yet an irritant, but we want to make sure
 that it doesn't become an irritant. We're getting now to the
 end game in this whole process,"  Assistant Secretary of State
 for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told reporters at a
 news conference held yesterday at the Foreign Press Center.
       He said that India was committed to bringing its
 liability regime into conformance with the Convention on
 Supplementary Compensation
       "India is committed now to ratify the CSC by the end
 of the year, and it's also committed to bringing its liability
 regime into conformance with the CSC. So how it does that is
 very, very important," he said.
       "We want to be sure that having expended so much of
 our own political capital in getting the civil nuclear deal
 through beginning in 2005 and getting our own 123 agreement
 approved by our Congress and then by the entire NSG
       "....We want to be sure that our companies are going
 to benefit from this and that Indian companies are going to
 benefit from this. Indian companies themselves have a lot of
 concerns now about the liability regime." Blake said. PTI LKJ
 EKA