The two held discussions at an undisclosed venue with officials on both sides remaining tightlipped over the deliberations. A US embassy spokesman, confirming the meeting between Singh and Talbott, however, declined to disclose the venue. ``No statement or communique will be issued,'' the spokesman said.

Officials at the Indian Consulate here were also incommunicado on the secret meeting.

At today's meeting, Singh was assisted by Ambassador to the US Naresh Chandra and Joint Secretary in Charge of US division in the external affairs ministry Alok Prasad. US delegation included Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia KarlInderfurth.

Indian and foreign newsmen wanting to cover the crucial meeting were at their wit's end to get information on the deliberations.

While senior officials at the Indian Consulate were not available to answer queries, an Indian official incharge of protocol Mukesh Kumar refused to meet journalists at his office.

Calls to Kumar to know about the venue of the meeting or where the Indian delegation was staying drew a blank and one could overhear him saying Mein naheen hoon to the telephone operator. Calls were also quickly disconnected the moment it was known that the caller identified himself as a journalist after searching questions.

Indian and foreign journalists called each other almost throughout the day for some clues about the venue of the meeting. But the exercise turned out to be futile.

The first information about the meeting came when the press attache of the US embassy in Bonn said that the meeting had ``begun'' in the afternoon between the Indian and the Americandelegations.

Newsmen drew a blank when the attache was asked about the venue of the meeting. ``All that I can say is that the meeting is going on in Frankfurt,'' the attache said.

There was further bad news when journalists were telephonically informed by the US press attache that for the moment ``no statement or communique is expected'' after the high-level meeting.

Asked whether there was a remote possibility of a statement being issued, the press attache said ``I don't think so.''

Meanwhile, testifying before the Roth Committee on renewal of Most Favoured Nation or normal trade relations with China, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said the BJP's election manifesto had said that India would go nuclear.

Albright stoutly denied a charge by Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Republican Senator Connie Mack that it was China's help to Pakistan in the nuclear and missile fields and US moves towards China which gave the impression of Sino-American hegemony that pressured New Delhito carry out the nuclear tests. She also described Kashmir as the basic issue between India and Pakistan and referred to her father's role as a member of the United Nations Commission on Kashmir, although his book on partition ws not well received in India.