'Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement a significant achievement', says security expert

Security and strategic analyst, Commodore (retired) C Uday Bhaskar on Sunday hailed the breakthrough on the civil nuclear deal between India and U.S. as a significant achievement, adding that the issue had stalled bilateral relations between the two countries for the last six years.

"The breakthrough that has been announced on the nuclear issue is a very significant achievement because the potential of the agreement that was initiated in 2005 and completed in 2008 had not been realised in the last six years. We have waited for a long time for this development," Bhaskar told ANI.

"There were a couple of clauses that had held up any meaningful co-operation between the India and the United States, the nuclear liability and the inspection in perpetuity. It appears that both sides have been able to arrive at a modus vivendi and it is a very significant breakthrough because the bilateral relationship had remained stalled due to the symbolism and substantive impact of the nuclear issue," he added.

India and U.S. sealed the civil nuclear deal today, which had been stalled since 2008, after Prime Narendra Modi and President Obama held delegation-level talks over the issue.

According to reports, U.S. has withdrawn the tracking clause from the deal.