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Strong ties helped wade through crisis: Rice

Washington: The broadening of relations between India and the U.S. since 2001 helped in better tackling the crisis arising out of the Mumbai attacks, as there is now a greater level of trust between the countries, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said.

In remarks at “Daughters and Sons Meeting with Q&A At the Council on Foreign Relations,” Ms. Rice said her visit to the subcontinent following the November 26 Mumbai carnage was aimed at showing solidarity with India and giving a message to Pakistan that terrorists operating from its soil have to be dealt with.

“I found the fact that since 2001, which is the crisis that I also was a part of the management, the U.S. has developed a very strong relationship with India. It has broadened and deepened, and I do think it has helped us through this crisis, because there’s a level of trust with India that I think was not there in 2001 when we had to get through the military mobilisation that attended the crisis in Kashmir,” she said, referring to the tension following the attack on India’s Parliament.

Ms. Rice said the purpose of her visit to India was to express solidarity in the wake of the crisis that was also of serious concern to the U.S.

On the other hand, she said, that she delivered a message to Islamabad that “it’s not enough to say these are non-state actors. If they’re operating from Pakistani territory, then they have to be dealt with.”

Contending that both India and Pakistan have displayed a desire to work through the conflict, Ms. Rice said nobody wanted to escalate tensions. — PTI

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