Jaswant satisfied with talks in U.S.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 3. After two days of extensive and intensive talks here, the External Affairs and Defence Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, left Washington last evening for London saying he was ``extremely'' satisfied with the kind of discussions he had had. The highpoint of his visit was undoubtedly the 45-minute session he had with the President, Mr. George W. Bush, who dropped by during a meeting Mr. Singh was having with the National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

Mr. Singh also met senior Cabinet Members like the National Security Advisor, the Secretary of State and the Defence Secretary besides top law-makers on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, Mr. Singh met the Vice-President, Mr. Dick Cheney. He was also interviewed by different television networks.

At the State Department interaction with the media, Mr. Singh was asked if the Pakistani President, Mr. Musharraf could be trusted as a full partner in the war against terrorism. ``If the Pakistani leadership and Pakistan were to abandon the path of terrorism and join the rest of the international community in its fight against this evil, it is a development India would welcome,'' Mr. Singh responded.

Later at a press meeting at the Indian Embassy, Mr. Singh remarked that he had a ``full round'' of discussions with senior officials here and was convinced that there was now a ``clearer understanding of the complexities and challenges'' to the free world.

Mr. Singh once again pointed out that as far as India was concerned a distinction could not be made between ``good'' and ``bad'' terrorists. Terror outfits such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Al-Badr and the Lashkar-e-Taiba were all part of the Al-Qaeda network.

Though the U.S. had a short-term objective by going after the Al- Qaeda network, he said he was positive that Washington would pursue this campaign and not give up midway.

Asked about the implications of the U.S. resuming military assistance to Pakistan and perhaps even getting rid of the so- called democracy sanctions, Mr. Singh said New Delhi had informed the Bush administration that it did not wish to complicate the U.S.' short-term arrangement provided it had the long-term perspective in mind.

``The United States of 2001 is not that of the 1980s,'' Mr. Singh quipped.

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Section  : International
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