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US clarifies goals of dialogue with India

The Clinton administration has spelt out three major goals for the United States' on-going nuclear non-proliferation dialogue with India, the seventh round of which will take place in Rome on November 19.

Speaking at the Brookings Institution yesterday, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, who represented the US in the dialogue with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's special envoy Jaswant Singh, said these goals were: preventing an escalation of nuclear and missile competition in the region, strengthening the global non-proliferation regime and promoting a dialogue between India and Pakistan on the long-term improvement of their relations, including the subject of Kashmir.

''These goals, we believe, reflected everyone's interests -- theirs, ours and the world,'' he said.

While universal NPT adherence remained the US long-term goal, he said, ''We are not simply going to give India and Pakistan the cold shoulder until they take that step.''

"We are working intently with both countries to encourage them to take five practical steps that would help avoid a destabilising nuclear and missile competition and more generally reduce tensions on the subcontinent and bolster our global non-proliferation goals," he said.

UNI

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