NEW DELHI -- India and the United States will hold talks next week on nuclear cooperation to sort out differences over India's nuclear liability regime, reported Indo- Asian News Service Saturday.

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will hold talks with Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on Monday in New Delhi, which are expected to focus on resolving issues related to India's nuclear liability regime, said the report.

The guidelines or the Implementation Rules relating to the nuclear liability law were notified by the Indian government last month, clarifying separate responsibilities of both suppliers and buyers once an accident occurs.

The issue of nuclear liability law in India figured prominently in discussions between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama when they met on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Bali, Indonesia last month, according to local media reports.  

During the talks, India had made it clear that it will work within the framework of its domestic laws, indicating that it will not give in to any pressure from outside. But the United States said that India should let its domestic law on nuclear liability conform with international law.

Both sides will try to find some "common ground" on an issue that is holding up the operationalization of the nuclear deal between the two countries signed years ago, the report quoted reliable sources as saying in New Delhi.

France, another nuclear technology supplier to India, has accepted India's guidelines on nuclear liability.