Date:19/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/19/stories/2008011959081400.htm

International

Burns to resign in March

Washington: Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, the American point man for the India-U.S. civil nuclear deal, is resigning in March, but he will continue to handle the controversial deal.

The surprise decision by 51-year-old Burns, who negotiated the deal for more than two years with India, was announced by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“He decided it was time for him to retire from the Foreign Service,” Ms. Rice told reporters at the State Department on Friday. And even after his retirement, Mr. Burns would “continue to work on the Indian file,” particularly on the nuclear deal, Ms. Rice said.

Mr. Burns will be replaced by the current U.S. Ambassador to Russia, William Burns, for the third-highest job of Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs.

Personal reasons were cited for the exit of Mr. Burns, who is expected to take up a job in the private sector. — PTI