India gov't and allies to meet again on nuclear deal

NEW DELHI, June 25 (Reuters) - The Indian government agreed on Wednesday to meet its communist allies once again in a bid to resolve an impasse over a nuclear deal with the United States that has threatened to spark a snap election.

"The committee completed its discussions on all aspects of the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation agreement. The next meeting of the committee to be conveyed in due course will finalise its findings," Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after meeting communist leaders.

The communists prop up the ruling coalition in parliament and say they will bring down the government if it goes ahead with a deal criticised by leftists for making India a pawn of the United States.

But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has invested much of his personal reputation in a deal seen as forging a closer trade and diplomatic ties with Washington, has appeared eager to go ahead with the deal despite opposition from within the coalition.

The deal would be a milestone in India-U.S. relations, not the best of friends during the Cold War. It would allow India to import U.S. nuclear fuel and reactors, despite having tested nuclear weapons and not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.