Washington, January 18
Undersecretary of state Nicholas Burns, the American pointsman for the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal, is resigning in March but will continue to handle the controversial deal which got bogged down in Indian politics.

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

Burns will be replaced by the current US Ambassador to Russia, William Burns for the third-highest job of Undersecretary of state for Political Affairs in the State Department.

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