Burns defers visit, nuclear deal delayed

Hopes of an early signing of the 123 Agreement, which will operationalise the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, were belied today as reports from the US state department indicated that US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns may not visit India next week.

Burns was expected to visit India in an attempt to close the 123 Agreement. The visit, however, is not about to happen, a report quoting a US state department official said. The Ministry of External Affairs officials confirmed that Burns' visit had been put off by "at least a week".

"No particular date had yet been finalised. We are in the process of exchanging suggestions and examining them. We will let you know when a visit is scheduled," said a ministry statement.

This after several officials had earlier said that Burns would be in New Delhi next week

On May 1, the officials of the two countries had claimed significant progress in negotiations.