US denies pressing Australia on India uranium

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CANBERRA, Nov 16 (AFP): US President Barack Obama Wednesday denied pressuring Australia to reverse a ban on selling uranium to India but said he would "watch with interest" how the issue played out. Prime Minister Julia Gillard moved to lift the ban this week in a bid to strengthen relations with the fast-growing economic powerhouse, and there was some speculation it was at the urging of the United States. But Obama insisted Washington had "not had any influence, I suspect, on Australia's decision to explore what its relationship in terms of the peaceful use of nuclear energy in India might be" after touching down for a snap visit. "I suspect that you've got some pretty smart government officials who figured out that India's a big player and that the Australia-India relationship is one that should be cultivated," the president told reporters in Canberra.