External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, spearheading the United Progressive Alliance efforts to end the logjam on with Left parties on Indo-US nuclear deal, on Tuesday night briefed the Congress core group including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] on the outcome of the talks with its outside supporters.

Mukherjee apprised party chief Sonia Gandhi [Images], heading the core group, and other senior leaders of the deliberations with the Left parties at a time when they appeared to have prevailed over the government not to start formal talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency on India-specific safeguards agreement for some of its civilian atomic plants.

The meeting of the core group came at a time when IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei is in the country and is scheduled to meet the prime minister on Thursday.

The Left parties have warned the government that they could withdraw their support if the ruling coalition takes steps to operationalise the agreement with the US.