Let's resolve our differences in an open way: Clinton

By Malini Parthasarathy

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 15. With the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, calling for a ``regular, sustained partnership'' between America and India in which the two sides should ``identify our common interests'' and ``be forthright about the places where we still have differences'' to be resolved ``in a matter-of fact, open and honest way'', the Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee, and his delegation had talks with their American counterparts today at the White House.

Mr. Vajpayee was earlier given a ceremonial welcome on the South Lawns of the White House where he was given a 19-gun salute and the national anthems of both countries played. The President's welcoming remarks referred glowingly to his trip to India and America's ``fascination with India'' for ``its rich history, culture, great religions'' but also because it saw India as a ``rising economic leader, making breathtaking strides in information technology.'' He paid tribute to India's democracy which he said reminded the world that ``freedom is not a Western value but a universal longing.'' Praising Gandhi and indicating that he would join Mr. Vajpayee in the dedication of a Gandhi memorial in Washington on Saturday morning, Mr. Clinton recalled the inspiration that Gandhi's teachings provided to Martin Luther King Jr's own struggle against inequality in America. ``And we have been changing for the better ever since,'' he said.

Amid his warm remarks, Mr. Clinton also took care to reemphasise the American interest in furthering nonproliferation in South Asia. ``At the same time, we welcome India's commitment to forgo nuclear testing until the treaty banning all nuclear testing comes into force,'' he said, referring to the CTBT. Indicating that the differences between the Indian and U.S positions remained, he said ``no matter our differences - and two such large and diverse countries will always have some differences as long as we are thinking - if we speak with care and listen with respect we will find some common ground and achieve common aims.''

`American commitment'

Speaking later at a photo opportunity when the two leaders sat together before moving to the Oval Office for one-on-one talks, before meeting again with their entire delegations, Mr. Clinton said that the two sides had ``worked hard together to move our relationship from one of too little contact and too much suspicion to one of genuine efforts to build a long-term partnership.'' He also said that he hoped that the new relationship with India would become ``an American commitment'' that went beyond political parties. If the Vice-President, Mr. Al Gore, won the election, since he was part of this administration and ``an intimate part of all our foreign policy decisions'', Mr. Clinton said that he knew that Mr. Gore would support it. Mr. Gore was in fact hosting a lunch for the Prime Minister the same afternoon after the talks concluded.

The Prime Minister, who has been showing visible fatigue and had evident difficulty in walking because of his knees, and seemed in discomfort even during the welcoming ceremony when he had to stand on the podium, expressed the hope that as the discussions proceeded, ``differences will be reduced and common ground will emerge''. He said that this was ``a time of new hope and new opportunities in Indo-American ties'' and that his visit marked a part of ``a continuing dialogue between the world's two largest democracies.''

Joint press conference called off

Curiously, a joint press conference that the two leaders were to address together later in the afternoon after Mr Gore's lunch was called off suddenly on the ground that Mr. Gore had suggested that he spend more time with Mr. Vajpayee in discussions. Since the time slotted for the luncheon meeting with Mr. Gore was known well in advance and the joint press appearance had been scheduled taking this into account, the abrupt cancellation of the event took mediapersons by surprise and triggered fresh speculation about the state of Mr. Vajpayee's health and of course, the inevitable musings on the health of Indo-American relations.

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