ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Another round of Jaswant-Talbott talks likely

Prospects of another round of discussion between US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's special envoy Jaswant Singh on the nuclear issue are rated high during the latter's Washington visit on September 20 and 21.

However, India's ambassador to the US Naresh Chandra told the media last night that their meeting had not yet been fixed. But, he did not rule out such a possibility during Jaswant Singh's stay in Washington.

Jaswant Singh will make a stop-over in Washington on way to New York where Vajpayee arrives on September 22, to participate in the United Nations General Assembly session.

US President Bill Clinton will also be in New York that day, but it is not certain whether there will be any meeting between the Indian leader and him on that occasion.

Talbott and Singh met last in New York on September 3, following which officials circles in Washington spoke of ''visible signs of progress'' in their efforts to strike a balance between India's security concerns and the United States' non-proliferation agenda.

The US appears keen on getting India's commitment to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in the coming days to decide on Clinton's visit to the region which has been put on hold in protest against the May nuclear tests by India and Pakistan.

Indications are that the US will decide on the visit soon. The visit was originally scheduled for November.

Asked about the progress in the Singh-Talbott talks, Chandra said the efforts, which began in mid-June, were aimed at bringing about clarity on the issues under discussion. These included CTBT, export controls, India's security concerns and the US non-proliferation agenda.

Besides Vajpayee, several other Indian leaders are visiting the US in the coming days. They include Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Union Ministers P R Kumaramangalam, Sikandar Bakht and Sushma Swaraj.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report