[Bloomberg, 6 May; Hindustan Times, 7 May] India's federal ruling coalition and its communist allies failed to break the deadlock on the stalled civilian nuclear agreement with the US as their eighth meeting ended inconclusively on 6 May. In the meeting, the coalition and communist allies discussed the outcome of the negotiations between the government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on India-specific safeguards. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, "The Left parties have sought further clarifications, which will be provided in the next few days." He added that, "Further discussion will be held at the next meeting of the committee to be held on 28 May." India's communist parties have been vociferous in their opposition to the bilateral agreement on the grounds that its conditions would give the USA influence over Indian foreign policy, and had threatened to withdraw their support from the coalition government if it were to proceed. "In terms of India, the issue is with Indian politics and the Indian government working on their end to try to resolve any issues they may have," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters when asked if the deal was "just dead or is moving forward."
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