New Delhi: India and the US on Monday discussed issues relating to the civil nuclear liability regime and the volatile situation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns on Monday held talks with National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Burns underlined their shared stakes in economic and defence areas and said that one could not expect "dramatic breakthroughs" in the relationship everyday.
He discussed an entire gamut of bilateral relations with Indian officials, including on civil nuclear cooperation and the situation in the Af-Pak region and Middle East.
Dismissing criticism that the US had not provided adequate information on Pakistan-American terror suspect David Headley, Burns said India and the US have "cooperated closely" on terrorism and on the Headley issue.
"The relation between India and the US matters not only to the two countries but to the entire international community," he said.
American nuclear companies are concerned that the Indian civil nuclear liability law imposes a heavy burden in case of an accident and have said many a time that the liability regime continues to be a deterrent to start nuclear business with New Delhi.
However, India has made it clear that it will work within the framework of its domestic laws.
This point was conveyed when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama met on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Bali in November.
The guidelines relating to the nuclear liability law were notified by the government in November.
During the talks with Obama, Manmohan Singh had made it clear that India will work within the 'four corners' of its domestic laws, indicating that it will not give in to any pressure from outside.
Manmohan Singh had also assured Obama that India will also ratify the Supplementary Convention (for nuclear damage).
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