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CTBT will be discussed soon, Jaswant tells Albright: AFP

Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh told United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Monday his government hoped to be able to discuss signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty at the parliamentary session, a senior US official said.

"He said that although they were not able to address this at the last session of Parliament, he hoped to bring this to the monsoon session (in July)," the State Department official told reporters in Warsaw.

Washington has long urged New Delhi to sign and ratify the CTBT, which bans all nuclear testing. It stepped up pressure following tests in 1998 that drew a tit-for-tat response from Pakistan -- and widespread condemnation, particularly from the US.

Indian officials have said they intend to sign the treaty at some point but have not given a specific date.

Singh made his comments to Albright on the sidelines of the first-ever international conference on democracy. They also discussed a wide range of issues, focusing on security and non-proliferation.

The subject of India's missile test earlier this month, over which the United States expressed regret, had not come up, said the official, who wished to remain anonymous.

Albright urged Singh to seriously consider acting now to improve tense relations with Pakistan, long aggravated by a dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir. Singh expressed hope such moves could be made. "We have always stood for rapprochement with Pakistan," the official quoted Singh as telling Albright.

"He said he hoped that the conditions could be created to allow there to be some forward movement," the official said.

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