New Delhi: India would press the United States for an early go-ahead to some of the much-delayed hi- tech Defence deals, when security experts from the two countries meet in New Delhi for a crucial meeting in the first week of July.

The experts, officials said, are to meet to discuss ways to ease Washington's sanctions on export of dual-use goods and technologies to New Delhi.

The experts would discuss implementation of Indo-US statement of principles to enhance high technology commerce, including trade, in dual use goods and technologies signed in February this year.

Though US officials have verbally told New Delhi that they will not oppose the Israeli-India-Russia deal on sale of Phalcon Air early warning and control system (AWACS), Washington is yet to give its nod to Israel to go ahead with the deal.

India's concern assume significance in the wake of recent media reports that US was offering almost a billion Dollar arms package deal to Israel to back off from the deal. Washington, the reports said, had used similar methods to block sale of Phalcons to China.

Defence Minister George Fernandes recently told Parliament that the government was not aware of such moves by Washington. He said New Delhi had been told that Washington would not block the sale.

Officials said that India's AWACS configuration had been finalised and that Tel Aviv had not shown any reservations on integrating an AWACS system on a Russian IL-76 platform.

PTI