With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] indicating that he had not given up hopes on the India-US nuclear agreement, US Ambassador to India David Mulford on Thursday met Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon in New Delhi to discuss the fate of the agreement.

Mulford is understood to have conveyed the US' displeasure over the uncertainty that has come to surround the crucial initiative between the two countries.

In his third meeting in four days with leaders and officials, the US envoy is believed to have sought to know what the government is planning to do to push the deal that is being vigorously opposed by the ruling coalition's Left allies.

The meeting came a day after Singh said the "process of evolving a meaningful consensus" on the deal is still on, indicating that he had still not lost hope about it.

The comment came less than a week after Singh said that the failure of the deal would not be the end of life. The prime minister had also said that his was "not a one-issue government".

The statement had caused disappointment in the Bush administration and its members had expressed hope that the United Progressive Alliance government will continue to push the deal.

Three days ago, Dr Singh had told US President George W Bush [Images] during a telephonic conversation that difficulties had arisen in the operationalisation of the deal.

The US envoy had earlier met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Joint Secretary (America) in the Ministry to convey his country's disappointment