U.S.-India nuclear agreement left to interpretation

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The Bush administration assured Congress in a classified briefing yesterday that its nuclear deal with India does not circumvent U.S. law, although the briefers conceded that some language is deliberately vague to help both sides save face.

Some congressional officials said they were satisfied by the administration's assurances.

But they also noted that India's aggressive "courting" of Iran could jeopardize congressional approval of the deal, despite the significant influence of Indian-American campaign contributors in Congress.

The most recent agreement between Washington and New Delhi, negotiated last week, was deliberately written in a way that can be interpreted differently by the two sides, said congressional officials who were briefed by State Department officials but did not see a copy of the text.

"The way the Indians are reading it is not correct from the administration's point of view," said one congressional official who attended.

The Indians protested from the beginning legal U.S. requirements to automatically suspend nuclear cooperation if India conducted another atomic test.

To help New Delhi save face domestically, the administration agreed to consult with the Indian government before taking any action in response to a test, officials said.

The Indians presented that language as a major U.S. concession, but U.S. officials said consultations do not mean much in practice.

"So we'll consult with them — big deal," one official said. "That doesn't mean we'll just sit and not do anything if they test. You can be sure that Congress will respond to an Indian nuclear test."

On another major issue — securing India's nuclear fuel supply in the event of a U.S. cutoff — the interpretations also differ.