Burns to be in Vienna to shore up support for N deal

Washington, July 17 (PTI) U.S. Under Secretary of State
William Burns will travel to IAEA headquarters in Vienna
Friday to shore up support for the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear
deal when New Delhi plans to brief the Board of Governors of
the U.N. atomic watchdog on a safeguards agreement.
Burns, who is travelling to Geneva for a meeting over
Iran's controversial nuclear programme, will have a stopover
in Vienna on Friday.
"Friday, he's (Burns') going to have some consultations
at the International Atomic Energy Agency, related to the
nuclear deal," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told
reporters without elaborating.
"... I don't have many more details for you than that,
that he is going to be in Vienna at the IAEA for some
consultations on the civil nuclear deal...," he said.
With Manmohan Singh Government bracing for a trust vote
on July 22, India Wednesday said it has decided to scale down
Friday's special briefing for the IAEA on the safeguards
agreement and other aspects of Indo-U.S. nuclear deal,
confining it to its 35-member Board of Governors and NSG
countries which are not part of the Board.
The IAEA has said its Board of Governors will meet on
August 1 to discuss a draft safeguards agreement with India,
necessary for the implementation of the deal unveiled by U.S.
President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in
July 2005 which would allow India commerce in nuclear material
and technology.
In addition, India must obtain a waiver from the
Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of 45 states that export
nuclear fuel and technology.
Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs,
will travel Saturday to Geneva for talks with Iran on its
nuclear programme.