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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Washington File

12 May 2003

Armitage Voices U.S. Appreciation of India's Gesture To Pakistan

(Says all violence between Indian and Pakistan must end) (1190)
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, speaking in New Delhi on
May 10, said he conveyed to the Indian government U.S. appreciation
for the "far-reaching act of statesmanship embodied in the statement
which the prime minister made in Srinagar extending the hand of
friendship to Pakistan."
Armitage was in New Dehli as part of a South Asian trip that is taking
him to Islamabad, New Delhi and Kabul.
Armitage said he is "cautiously optimistic" that the process begun by
the Indian prime minister's act of statesmanship "could possibly lead
to a step by step process that would eventually resolve all issues."
The United States, he said, "would like to see the two great nations
-- India and Pakistan -- living side by side in peace, stability and
harmony." Central to this process is the cessation of all violence
between the two countries, Armitage underscored.
Armitage also announced the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister of
India Lal Krishna Advani to Washington as the guest of Vice President
Cheney in June.
Following are Deputy Secretary Armitage's remarks in New Delhi on May
10.
(begin transcript)
US EMBASSY, NEW DELHI
Press Office
For Immediate Release            
May 10, 2003
Press Availability Transcript
Mr. Richard Armitage
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
New Delhi, India
May 10, 2003
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I can't
tell you what a delight it is for me to be back in Delhi. This is my
fourth visit in two years and I hope I have at least four more in the
next two. I was sent to South Asia -- and particularly here to India
-- by President Bush to make the point that although the United States
has been very heavily engaged in Iraq; we are able to do two things at
once. And one of the things we are able to do is to promote our
relations with India.
I had a very good set of discussions today. Let me tell you that I was
able to convey to Prime Minister Vajpayee, the President's and Mrs.
Bush's condolences in the form of a letter for the loss of his sister.
On a happier note, I was able to invite Deputy Prime Minister Advani
to Washington as the guest of our Vice President in June. I had an
excellent opportunity to review the excellent state of US-India
relations following up on my conversation with Ambassador Mishra in
London and his conversations in Washington to include a meeting with
President George W. Bush.
I was able to convey to Prime Minister Vajpayee the President's, the
Administration's and the American public's appreciation for the
far-reaching act of statesmanship embodied in the statement which the
Prime Minister made in Srinagar extending the hand of friendship to
Pakistan. I was able to engage in a discussion of regional and global
interests with our friends here in Delhi; and finally I was able to
expose my colleagues here to that portion of my discussions in
Pakistan, which are of interest to India.
So with that statement, I'd be glad to take a few questions.
QUESTION: What assurance can you give that Pakistan will stop
cross-border terrorism (inaudible)
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I have spoken in Delhi to this matter.
President Musharraf told me that "there was nothing happening across
the Line of Control, and if there were training camps on the Pakistan
side of the Line of Control, that they would be gone by tomorrow," he
said. It's not my job to give assurances; it's not my job to tell our
Indian friends what I think. It is for India to make up her own mind
on what she thinks about that particular statement from President
Musharraf.
QUESTION: What did the Indian leadership (inaudible) tell you about
that statement, whether they believed it or not?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I think the fact of the matter is that
people are dying. And whenever people die, whenever women and children
and innocent non-combatants die for political purposes, one has to
call that terrorism. And I would let Indian officials speak for
themselves. From our point of view, the fact of the matter is all
violence has got to end.
QUESTION: Islamabad has told you that cross-border terrorism has gone
down, but even the State Department and other reports say that it
hasn't (inaudible)
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: As I said in Islamabad, I had a very
careful review of our understanding of incidents and deaths
surrounding cross-border violence. My position, my point of view is
that it is a terrible thing when we reduce the death of a person, a
loved one for some family, to a statistic. So, I concentrate on the
fact that all violence must end.
QUESTION: During the course of your talks today and with Mr. Mishra,
was there any reference to Iraq and does the US want Indian troops
deployed in Iraq in one way or the other in the next few weeks or
months?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: In my discussions, both in London and here
in Delhi, I talked about the situation, present situation as we saw it
in Iraq, our own activities there and talked in general about
reconstruction in Iraq in which there will certainly be a role for
(India). I made no specific request about troops or anything of that
nature.
QUESTION: What can move the dialogue between Indian and Pakistan
forward at this time?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I said in Islamabad and I'll say
again here that I am cautiously optimistic that the process begun by
the act of statesmanship by the Prime Minister of India could possibly
lead to a step by step process that would eventually resolve all
issues. We would like to see the two great nations -- India and
Pakistan -- living side by side in peace, stability and harmony. We'd
like to see the ability for the United States to develop a
relationship with Pakistan, in and about Pakistan; and a relationship
with India, in and about India; and not having to take into
consideration other interests. But that's a hope we have. It's a long
trip to when one would get there and I just hope we've begun a
process.
QUESTION: The United States calls Pakistan its ally in the fight
against terrorism. According to the India Government, India is a
victim of Pakistan's terrorism coming from across the border. How do
you reconcile these two apparently contradictory stands?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: As I've said before in Islamabad the fact
that more than 500 terrorists have been arrested in Pakistan, most
recently six who were intent on doing great harm to US personages in
Karachi, is a great aid to us in the global war on terrorism. I might
add that India is a partner with us in this global war on terrorism.
And our position doesn't need to be reconciled. A terrorist is a
terrorist is a terrorist. That's a quote from George W. Bush.
Thank you all very much.  Good night.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)



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