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US to Further Intensify Ties With India: Ambassador
The United States seeks further intensification of military ties with India in the post- sanction phase, US Ambassador to India Robert D Blackwill was quoted as saying in New Delhi on Wednesday by the Press Trust of India (PTI).
"We wish to intensify this relationship and make it broader and deeper," Blackwill, who presented his credentials to President Narayanan earlier this month, told the PTI.
He said reopening of military sales, which remained suspended in the wake of India's 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests, could come up for discussions between the two countries.
Indian External Affairs and Defense Minister Jaswant Singh is slated to visit Washington next week for meetings with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
U.S. President Bush on Sunday lifted sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan following their nuclear tests in 1998. This decision came in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11.
Dismissing criticism of U.S. ignoring India's concerns on terrorism, Blackwill said "U.S. is determined to treat South Asia in a non-hyphenated way. We are treating U.S.-India relationship separate from any other relationship."
He also confirmed that the U.S. has not made any request to India for cooperation on the military front in the context of possible U.S.-led action in Afghanistan.
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