Mumbai: The ninth meeting of the UPA-Left co-ordination committee ended without a decision and the allies have agreed to meet again to break the deadlock over the civilian nuclear deal with the United States.

The Left parties have threatened to back out of the alliance if the UPA government decided to go ahead with a deal, which they say will make India a US pawn.

For prime minister Manmohan Singh, however, the deal is of much importance, which he says will end India's nuclear isolation while forging a closer trade and diplomatic ties with Washington.

The meeting between the two sides ended with an agreement only to meet once again. No date was given for the next meeting.

"The next meeting of the committee ... will finalise its findings," foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee said after the meeting.

The nuclear pact, which gives India access to US nuclear fuel and technology, is potentially worth billions of dollars to the US and its European allies, but would give India a dependent energy alternative.

The Congress, meanwhile, sought to play down the crisis, saying its allies would not sacrifice the government over the agreement.

The deal still needs clearances from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group. Then the deal would have to go to the US Congress for final approval.