The US flag outside a mosque at Sunheri Bagh Lane in New Delhi. Picture by Prem Singh

New Delhi, Feb. 28: The Centre today said the nuclear deal was some distance away, suggesting the negotiations might continue beyond President George W. Bush’s visit.

“We are doing some hard bargaining,” foreign secretary Shyam Saran, the chief negotiator for India, said. He added that several loose ends needed to be tied up and ambiguities resolved so that nothing was left unfinished to pose difficulties in the future.

The government argued that Bush’s visit had more to it than the nuclear deal: it involved significant movement in co-operation in energy, agriculture, space and science. But intense backroom discussions were still on to try and seal the pact quickly.

Neither side is lacking in political will. After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh outlined India’s stand at the negotiations before Parliament yesterday, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rica, who will be arriving in India with Bush, called him up to say the two countries were “close” to the deal and should work hard to finish the job.

Saran said it was in both sides’ interests to clinch the deal as early as possible, but it would not lose relevance if it had to wait beyond Bush’s visit.

Saran said the two sticking points have been the nature of the separation (of the civil and military facilities) and safeguards.

The Prime Minister yesterday alluded to one of the misunderstandings when he said the US had to fulfil its commitment to supply imported fuel for Tarapur I and II. Saran said Washington had told Delhi it could not supply fuel before making changes in the law.

America still has to respond to the Indian position of keeping the fast breeder reactors on the civilian list. “This is our position. We have not concluded the discussion,” Saran said.