On his first visit to Washington after taking over as foreign secretary, Menon on Wednesday had a three-hour-long discussion with Burns, who is the key negotiator for the nuclear deal.
Among key Congressional leaders, the Foreign Secretary met included Jim McDermott, co-chair of the India caucus at the Congress; Howard L Berman, Chairman of House Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Senator Richard Lugar, Ranking Member of the powerful Senate Committee on International Relations
"I know that there were some press reports about whether or not he was going to be going this week or next week. I am not aware that he has any travel plans, at this point, to go to India," McCormack said.
The US response to this proposal would be known after Burns discusses it with Indian officials when he is in Delhi this week.
Burns was speaking at a White House Diwali function.
Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, who will be in Washington from March 28 to March 31, will hold bilateral discussions with his US counterpart, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns.
Burns was the Chief Guest and spoke at the Republic Day Reception hosted by the Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen at his residence on Friday.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Seeking to dispel their apprehensions, Saran is expected to highlight New Delhi's impeccable record on non-proliferation front.
Nicholas Burns, the lead negotiator on the US-India nuclear deal in the Bush administration, has said that Washington must reassure New Delhi that it is a "valued strategic partner."
According to sources in the Ministry of External Affairs, the text will be simultaneously released in Washington and New Delhi.
The two sides will seek to wind up the year-long negotiations ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush in Germany next week on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit.
Former Indian Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran will headline a major conference this week on the expectations and consequences of the US-India Nuclear Agreement, hosted by The Brookings Institution,
Both sides, however, refused to provide a timeline.
Part of the focus of the current discussions is also on the "next steps" that are involved in the civilian nuclear initiative such as status of India's negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency on India-specific safeguards and the NSG
The Iranian nuclear issue, which threatens to snowball into a major issue, is also likely to figure at the two-day talks.
Burns said, "We'll continue to watch India's relations with Iran, and we'll obviously respond very respectfully to any concerns by members of our own Congress as we should do."
Nicholas Burns noted that the Administration had been informed the Senate and House would meet in the early part of December to reconcile both bills.
Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran, who was the original Indian interlocutor of the US-India civilian nuclear deal negotiations with erstwhile US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, is unapologetic about his recent remarks at the India Habitat Centre lecture series in New Delhi which left many foreign policy experts both in India and the US puzzled.
Rejecting some critics' argument as to what message the US was sending to Iran by signing a nuclear energy deal with India, Burns said, "We don't see the connection between what Iran is doing and what India seeks to do."
Burns was responding to the opening remarks by Senator John F Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, who said it was imperative that the United States "...must consider Pakistan's relationship with India, especially when it comes to Kashmir."
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns -- the chief interlocutor of the US-India civilian nuclear deal -- who will resign in March, has said he is elated that India has asked its Ambassador to Washington Ronen Sen to stay on for another year, describing it as "good karma".
In what diplomatic observers have described as "a make or break" round of negotiations, senior US and Indian officials held several hours of intense discussions at the State Department on Tuesday in an attempt to seal the 123 Agreement.
Burns said from an American perspective, 'India and America have a common interest to thwart terrorism in our own regions and globally.'
Both need to tackle Kashmiri militants together, Nicholas Burns said.
There is still time to take a decision, a top US diplomat said.
"It is not going to be replicated to other countries," US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said.
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