archive: U.S. happy over restoration of LoC
U.S. happy over restoration of LoC
Sridhar Krishnaswami
The Hindu
July 22, 1999
Title: U.S. happy over restoration of LoC
Author: Sridhar Krishnaswami
Publication: The Hindu
Date: July 22, 1999
The telephone call made by the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, to
the Prime Minister, Mr A. B. Vajpayee, was to say that the United
States was "pleased to see that the Line of Control" between India and
Pakistan "had been largely restored", according to a spokesman of the
National Security Council. The conversation had lasted for 20
minutes.
Mr. P. J. Crowley told presspersons that Mr. Clinton "saluted Mr.
Vajpayee and India for exercising great restraint during this latest
situation and again encouraged the Prime Minister to find a way to
move ahead with bilateral dialogue on restoring the Lahore process for
both countries to move forward."
On his part, the Indian Prime Minister "saluted the President for his
efforts to help defuse the situation. Mr. Vajpayee also expressed his
condolences to the President and the American people on the Kennedy
accident," Mr. Crowley said.
Meanwhile, the President, in a statement on the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT), once again urged the Senate to ratify the treaty
nothing that some Senators were even refusing to consider it. "One
hundred and fifty two countries have signed, 41 have ratified, but if
our Senate fails to act, this treaty and all the protection and
increased safety it offers the American people cannot enter into force
for any country. That would make it harder to prevent further nuclear
arms competition, and as we have seen, for example, in the nuclear
tests in India and Pakistan," Mr Clinton remarked.
"Do we want these countries and other regional rivals to join a test
ban treaty, or do went them to scrap a treaty that could constrain
them? Do we want to walk away from a treaty under which those
countries and scores of others have agreed not to conduct nuclear
tests?," the President remarked, going on to stress that it was
strongly in American national interest to ratify the CTBT.
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