US to help India secure its UN peacekeepers

US to help India secure its UN peacekeepers
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Warsaw, June 27: The United States has assured India that it would take up with the concerned authorities the issue of securing the safety of Indian peacekeepers in strife-torn Sierra Leone even as New Delhi sought "greater clarity" and cooperation to ensure their well-being.

External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told newsmen that this assurance was given by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during their hour-long meeting on the sidelines of an inter-governmental conference on "Democratic governance," here last night.

Singh said the "difficult and complex" situation faced by the Indian peacekeepers in Sierra Leone figured prominently in the meeting held in the Sheraton hotel.

"The Secretary of State was fully supportive and very understanding of our concerns (over the safety of the Indian peacekeepers) and promised to discuss with the concerned officials" Singh said.

Indian officials said Albright made it clear that there was a need to ensure the safety of Indian peacekeepers.

The situation faced by the Indian peacekeepers in the African country is also expected to figure during the planned meeting between Singh and the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan here later today.

Issues relating to non-proliferation and disarmament also figured along with bilateral and regional matters at the meeting between Singh and Albright convened mainly for discussions on the planned visit of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to the US sometime in September this year.

On nuclear non-proliferation, Singh outlined the Indian position on how the government had an "obligation" to obtain "political consensus" in this country over the issue.

Albright was also told that India "will be moving towards it (achieving national consensus) now."

The disarmament issue camp up when Albright emphasised the importance attached by Washington in giving "priority" to non-proliferation matters.

On Indo-US relations, Indian officials said Albright renewed US President Bill Clinton's invitation to Vajpayee to visit the US and informed Singh how Clinton wants to "personally reciprocate" the warmth he got during his five-day visit to India last March.

Albright spoke about how Clinton was "extremely happy"with the visit marked by "exceptional warmth".

She also expressed US' desire to maintain constant dialogue with India and referred to the possibilities of further meetings between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries at international meetings.

A second meeting between Singh and Albright is not ruled out during the next month's meeting of the Asian Regional Forum (ARF) in Bangkok.

Noting that parleys with Singh was the only bilateral meeting Albright had during her three-day stay in Warsaw, Indian officials said there was a clear intention by both the sides in maintaining the momentum of strengthening Indo-US relations which was built during Clinton's visit.

Singh said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir figured at the meeting during a general talk on regional issues and asserted there was no particular focus on Kashmir issue.