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US Ambassador designate wants sanctions lifted

Aziz Haniffa

India Abroad Correspondent in Washington

Prof Robert Blackwill, President George W Bush's nominee to be the next US Ambassador to India, said onTuesday that the sanctions imposed against India have not worked and should be lifted immediately.

He said the emphasis of the US policy would be on developing a broad-based relationship with New Delhi.

Blackwill, appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of his confirmation process, argued that while the US certainly wants India to "take seriously our perspectives on the issue of nuclear proliferation," sanctions imposed against New Delhi have flopped.

"Sanctions have not worked as a strategy," he said, and noted that "in my opinion, the best way to accomplish that objective is to have a broad, comprehensive, robust relationship with India on many subjects."

Blackwell is known in the White House circles as a China and non-proliferation expert.

Spelling out his "rich agenda" with India, Blackwill said, "we should have an intense dialogue with the Indian government," on nuclear non-proliferation and security matters.

The Ambassador designate wanted Indo-US trade relationship to be put on the fast track, and said that it will take effort from both the sides.

Blackwill also said cooperation in anti-terrorism efforts should be intensified adding, "It seems to me that India and the United States both face serious problems with respect to terrorism, sometimes from the same groups."

While welcoming the upcoming summit between Pakistani military leader General Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Blackwill ruled out any US mediation.

"We are not going to mediate in this (Kashmir) dispute between the two," he said. "But if we can be helpful and both sides want us to be helpful, then I think we should be," he added.

Blackwill also said another important agenda item he sees and one that's not mentioned often, was cooperation with India on "energy security in the Persian Gulf." He pointed out that "India now imports more than 50 percent of its energy from the Persian Gulf and has a bigger and bigger equity in ensuring reliable energy from the Gulf."

Blackwill spoke of the "enormous promise" in the relationship, but also struck a cautious note saying, "there are some deep historical ruts on both sides."

In his prepared testimony, which he read out before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Blackwill said that he can "personally attest to the president's commitment to transform ties between the United States and India, both multi-ethnic democracies with federal systems of government."

Blackwill said that this commitment by Bush to transform US-India ties was "reinforced when Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh met with the president in the Oval Office in April, and reiterated in several exchanges between President Bush and Prime Minister Vajpayee.

"It will certainly be manifested when the President visits India in the not too distant future," he predicted.

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