Let us bring round India, Pak on CTBT: U.S. tells Russia

WASHINGTON, FEB.11. The U.S. Secretary of state, Ms. Madeleine Albright, has urged Russia to work with the U.S. in bringing India and Pakistan ``back from the nuclear precipice'' and making them sign the CTBT as they both (U.S. And Russia) have ``powerful reasons'' and ``interest'' to attain these goals.

``We both have an interest in walking India and Pakistan back from the nuclear precipice, and in reinforcing global norms that were challenged by those countries' nuclear blasts,'' Ms. Albright said in a speech at the diplomatic academy in Moscow on February 2, which was released here.

Continuing her crusade to rope in India and Pakistan into the CTBT and impose the U.S. ideas on nuclear issues, she said, ``we both have an interest in bringing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (rejected by the U.S. Senate) into force, and in maintaining our respective moratoria on testing until we do.'' She said, ``Russia and the U.S. have a host of powerful reasons to work together to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction and missiles that carry them.''

However, if U.S. and Russia have differences on the issue, it would be a `troubling sign,' she said. Ms. Albright created a furore on Tuesday when she said that the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton's forthcoming trip to India should not be taken as a vindication of New Delhi's policies and that issues of nuclear proliferation and Kashmir remain to be addressed.

- PTI

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