The Hindu : Will Armitage advance his trip?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 18, 2002

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Will Armitage advance his trip?

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON MAY 17. The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, is likely to visit India and Pakistan in the next few weeks. The trip is being finalised here and the capitals of South Asia. But the official word on the trip is yet to come. "Plans for further senior-level visits are not yet finalised,'' a State Department official told The Hindu. "We have the intention to stay engaged with India and Pakistan.''

What is being pointed out here, including in the local media, is that Mr. Armitage is scheduled to visit the region by the middle of next month; and that in view of the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir, his trip is perhaps being advanced.

"Mr. Armitage's trip had been under consideration even before the latest violence in Kashmir and is part of an effort to keep `senior level' diplomats engaged in trying to ease the border tensions,'' The Washington Post quoted an official as saying in its Thursday editions. Mr. Armitage's trip could materialise within two weeks but the itinerary had not been finalised. The report also said that aside from being known for his "tough talk,'' Mr. Armitage is also known to be close to the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell. "Armitage is an effective communicator with foreign leaders,'' it said quoting an official.

In fact, Mr. Armitage is expected to get a first-hand view of things in the subcontinent when the Indian Defence Policy Group (DPG) comes here next week as a part of regular consultations. India's Defence Secretary, who will be with the DPG, has a meeting scheduled with the Deputy Secretary, it is said.

One view is that there is a sense of urgency about the goings on in the subcontinent here. There is concern that things could get out of hand in view of the happenings in the recent past. That the administration is sufficiently worried is evident from the flurry of conversations in the last few days in the highest levels of this Government, including the President, George W. Bush's telephone conversation with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Meanwhile, the State Department on Thursday once again asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint; and the Bush administration has taken the position that an end to infiltration could be one way to lower tensions and help the dialogue process. "We have always said that both parties need to exercise restraint; they need to take steps to reduce violence. An important concern in the process has always been to end the infiltration into Kashmir,'' the spokesman, Richard Boucher, said.

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