Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

MR. BOUCHER: I think the Secretary said it briefly on Sunday, didn't he, with Wolf Blitzer. A year ago, we were all concerned about the prospect of nuclear war between India and Pakistan. We've been able by working with them not only to improve our relationships with India, our relationship with Pakistan, but also, I think, to decrease the tension of the situation and to look at the prospect that the two countries can enter into a broad dialogue which includes questions of Kashmir. So we are continuing to work with them, continuing to be involved with both those nations, because they are each important to us, and we think the situation in South Asia is one of the key situations in the world that we continue to work on.

QUESTION: And reviewing between United States and Pakistan, despite all these ups and downs and Pakistan's help for North Korea and also for Iraq and five Pakistanis in the U.S. now that they are looking for, and also at the same time Pakistanis are being trained suicide bombers that are going to Afghanistan, where do you --

MR. BOUCHER: Let's get to the question instead of the charges.

QUESTION: How can you review now the future between the past year between the two nations, the U.S. and Pakistan?

MR. BOUCHER: The United States and Pakistan have had a very important strategic cooperation in Afghanistan, a very important strategic cooperation against terrorism, and frankly, a very important cooperation in the direction that President Musharraf has set for his nation.

If I remember correctly, it was last December's speech and last January's speech by President Musharraf that set them on a course of becoming a more modern nation, and that's a course that we have supported not only in our rhetoric, but in terms of our assistance programs and everything else we've tried to do. So this is an ongoing cooperation with Pakistan that improves on its own merits, that improves based on the interests that bring us together and the interests that we can advance together.

I would say almost the same thing about India. It's a different kind of relationship in a different way, but each of these relationships develops on its own merits and both have developed quite positively over the last year.

QUESTION: One more on India, please?

MR. BOUCHER: Yeah.

QUESTION: My question is that how much in advance the U.S. knew now. According to the press reports, Musharraf was ready to use nuclear weapons against India.

MR. BOUCHER: Huh?

QUESTION: It has been printed in New York Times, Washington Post.

MR. BOUCHER: Well, that doesn't make it true.

QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.