Date:02/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/02/stories/2008120260021100.htm

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Rice compliments India, Pakistan

Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, scheduled to travel to India on Wednesday, has complimented India and Pakistan on keeping the lines of communication open.

According to a transcript of Ms. Rice’s conversation with journalists before she left for the NATO Ministerial meeting, she said: “When I speak with the Indians, they talk about the very good initial statements from the Pakistani government. They have talked on the telephone. This is a different relationship than it was a number of years ago. Obviously, they share a common enemy, because extremists in any form are obviously a threat to the Pakistanis as well as to the Indians.”

Ms. Rice said Americans and British citizens were deliberately killed in the Mumbai attack which made the terrorist strike “of special interest and concern to the United States.”

Ms. Rice is scheduled to visit London for the Northern Atlantic Treaty (NATO) Ministerial meeting on Tuesday. She will leave the meeting early to arrive here on Wednesday.

“Secretary Rice’s visit to India is a further demonstration of the United States’ commitment to stand in solidarity with the people of India as we all work together to hold these extremists accountable,” a statement by White House press secretary Dana Perino released here by the U.S. Embassy said.

Corrections and Clarifications:

A report "[Condoleezza] Rice compliments India, Pakistan" (December 2, 2008) gave the expansion of NATO as the Northern Atlantic Treaty. It is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.