N-deal: The road ahead in US

From Vienna the action shifts back to Washington DC, where the Indo-US nuclear deal now awaits clearance from the US Congress.

The bilateral 123 agreement, which lays down the terms of nuclear trade between America and India, still has to face a yes or no vote.

Ashley Tellis, a key advisor to Bush government on the deal, says: "The next step is for the President to get the determinations required. I think there are seven determinations to be made. Bush has to make those determinations that India has completed a set of actions. Once those determinations are made which we can do really quickly assuming that India fulfills what is supposed to do the administration intends to send this to Congress at the earliest possible opportunity."

The earliest that can be is Monday, when Congress reconvenes after summer break for the last time before the presidential elections in November.

However, US law states there has to be a continuous 30-day session in Congress once a bill is introduced, in order for it to be put to a simple up-down vote.

The 30-day period can be waived but it requires the unanimous consent of all house members.

But well-known and influential opponents of the deal could come in the way.

In which case, it's more than likely that the deal will only be taken up in a lame duck session in the winter -- after the US elections, but before the new President, and Congress assume office.

While the NSG clearance means that India can now technically trade with any of its members without awaiting this vote, there is an unwritten understanding, that India will wait for the US Congress to ratify the 123.

Sharon Squassoni, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, adds: "If Congress did not pass the deal French and Russian and Japanese and other nuclear industries would be able to pursue contracts with India and US industries will not so there is a certain logic that Congress will feel that pressure and act accordingly."

But at this stage domestic politics will become a factor -- when much will depend on whether the Democrats want to give President George Bush a foreign policy success and a legacy that may mitigate the disasters of Iraq.