US seeks to smoothen India's ruffled feathers over Iran
Ahmadinejad will visit New Delhi on April 29 and will meet the President and brief the PM on nuclear and other issues.
By PTI |
WASHINGTON: Hoping to smoothen India's ruffled feathers over Iran, the US has said it was not in any way "pointing a finger" at New Delhi which has to make its "own choices".
"I don't think he (State Department Deputy spokesman Tom Casey) was in any way pointing the finger at India," US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher said here.
New Delhi had reacted sharply to Casey's comments on Monday asking India to tell President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his upcoming visit that Iran should meet the requirements of the UN Security Council and suspend uranium enrichment activities. India had said it did not need any guidance from the US on the issue.
Ahmadinejad is scheduled to visit New Delhi on April 29 and will meet President Pratibha Patil and brief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the nuclear and other issues.
"I do understand that people want to make their own policy and decide their own choices. I don't think this is that big an issue, that big a disagreement between us," Boucher said at the Washington Foreign Press Centre.
Boucher said the US will be watching Ahmadinejad's visit to see what comes out of it.
"We do talk to India about Iran, as we talk to them about everything in the region. We've actually even proposed we have more systematic exchanges on a variety of areas of the world," he said yesterday.
"... I think our policies are very well-known in the world. We also know that India has made very clear they don't want to see another nuclear-weapon state in their region," the senior State Department official said, adding "they'll have a visit and we'll see what comes out of it."
India yesterday also sent a clear message to the US, saying that it was for the IAEA to decide on the nature of Iran's nuclear programme and not for Washington to take a call on it.
"I don't think he (State Department Deputy spokesman Tom Casey) was in any way pointing the finger at India," US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher said here.
New Delhi had reacted sharply to Casey's comments on Monday asking India to tell President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his upcoming visit that Iran should meet the requirements of the UN Security Council and suspend uranium enrichment activities. India had said it did not need any guidance from the US on the issue.
Ahmadinejad is scheduled to visit New Delhi on April 29 and will meet President Pratibha Patil and brief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the nuclear and other issues.
"I do understand that people want to make their own policy and decide their own choices. I don't think this is that big an issue, that big a disagreement between us," Boucher said at the Washington Foreign Press Centre.
Boucher said the US will be watching Ahmadinejad's visit to see what comes out of it.
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"We do talk to India about Iran, as we talk to them about everything in the region. We've actually even proposed we have more systematic exchanges on a variety of areas of the world," he said yesterday.
"... I think our policies are very well-known in the world. We also know that India has made very clear they don't want to see another nuclear-weapon state in their region," the senior State Department official said, adding "they'll have a visit and we'll see what comes out of it."
India yesterday also sent a clear message to the US, saying that it was for the IAEA to decide on the nature of Iran's nuclear programme and not for Washington to take a call on it.
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