Indian Leader Frets About U.S. Nuke Deal

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, center, returns after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs, in Amritsar, India Wednesday Dec 20, 2006. Singh Wednesday said he welcomed all new ideas with an open mind and that it was time India and Pakistan worked together for a new future, Press Trust of India reported. (AP Photo/Aman Sharma) (Aman Sharma - AP)

NEW DELHI -- India's prime minister told President Bush on Thursday that his country is worried about details of a landmark nuclear pact with the United States, under which the U.S. agreed to supply the Indian power industry with fuel and technology.

Bush signed legislation Monday approving the deal, which reverses 30 years of U.S. atomic policy.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told President Bush in a phone call that India has "some concerns" about the nuclear pact, according to a statement by Singh's office.

The Indian government has not elaborated on its concerns, but Congress included a nonbinding clause in the new law directing the White House to certify that India is cooperating in efforts to force Iran to abandon its nuclear programs.

The clause has been criticized by Singh's leftist allies and opposition parties, who claim it violates India's sovereignty. They warn it could lead to efforts to cap, or even roll back, India's cherished nuclear weapons program.

The nuclear deal has been praised as the cornerstone of an emerging partnership between India and the U.S., and is unlikely to be rejected by New Delhi.

Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for Bush's National Security Council, said Bush and Singh "agreed on the importance of completing the necessary remaining steps" and implementing the agreement.

But the alarm in India over the language in the pact regarding Iran shows, perhaps, how far the countries have to go as they try to overcome decades of mistrust.

Singh, in his statement, added that "many" of India's concerns have already been addressed in the president's signing statement.

The White House has frequently blunted the impact of unwelcome provisions in federal legislation by issuing so-called signing statements.

In them, the president has laid out which parts of laws he has just signed he will follow and which he will not. The use of these statements, greatly increased during the Bush presidency, has been criticized by members of Congress.

During Thursday's phone call, which lasted about five minutes, the two leaders "expressed the hope that remaining concerns will be addressed in the next stage of negotiations" on the nuclear cooperation deal, the statement from Singh's office said.

Earlier this week, Singh told parliament that his government would do nothing that violates national interest.