Burns' resignation to take focus away from N deal: US experts

"The encouraging thing is that Nick Burns is not leaving that portfolio... he will continue to be an envoy on his issue. That is very important and I think he can bring it to a successful conclusion as soon as possible," Former Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs Karl Inderfurth said.

Analysts said that while Burns impending departure may have come as a surprise in some quarters, the practice of senior officials leaving their high profile jobs in the last year of administration to seek greener pastures in the private sector is nothing new.

"He (Burns) was of course the major advocate within the administration and his leaving had nothing to do with the trouble the accord faced on the Indian side," said Walter Andersen, the Acting Director of South Asia Studies at the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.

"That having been said, because he (Burns) was the major intellectual advocate of it, his not being there lends to take some of the focus away from it than otherwise would be," he said.

The decision by 51-year-old Burns was announced by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Jan 18. Though Burns will resign in March, officials said he had been asked to continue handling the deal.

However, with the deal facing opposition from the Left parties, both Inderfurth and Anderson said that the ball was now in India's court.

The civilian nuclear deal "is still up in the air. I think the US government is committed to it, but I think it will also take full commitment of the Indian government, all of the parties involved," Inderfurth, who is now at the Elliott School of International Affairs of The George Washington University said.

"While they work that out the US government should allow that process to play out, but at the same time the talks with the IAEA and the efforts with the Nuclear Suppliers Group, those things will go forward," he said.

"Hopefully it will all come together in a way that I think will be a big plus and a win-win for United States and India to see this thing concluded," the former Clinton administration official added.

Andersen, who was until recently was a senior official at the State Department in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and a known India hand, said while Rice "is in favour of the deal", she may not have the time to focus on it.

"I can't think of any other second tier person who is as focussed as Burns was. That may have some effect... if there is any kind of trouble that comes up regarding the passage of the civilian nuclear deal," Andersen maintained, adding "at this time all depends on the Indian side.

"The ball is really in the court of India."

A senior Indian official said that Burns had played a "seminal role" from the American side in realising the civilian nuclear cooperation initiative between India and the United States.

"This Initiative which meets the interests of both countries has a compelling logic to it from the perspective of energy security and the environment," the official added.