Madeleine Albright says the two countries are now comfortable enough to discuss the nuclear agreement.
NEW DELHI: Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright praised the Bush administration for carrying forward the legacy of good relations with India initiated by her former boss President Bill Clinton.
Albright, who had shed pounds since she was last in Delhi, looked relaxed and elegant in a black business suit. She is here for a talk organised by Aspen Institute India on Tuesday.
She explained that while she had many differences with the Bush administration on several issues, she was pleased that the President had taken forward the India-US relations to a point where the civil nuclear agreement was on the table. ``I believe the nuclear agreement is good for both countries and both governments need to work together to address nuclear proliferation, which is one of the greatest challenges of our times,’’ Albright said. She was confident that the civil nuclear deal would pass through the US Congress, because US lawmakers realise the importance of strategic ties with India.
Albright said she continued to be concerned about the non-proliferation regime which had “broken” and said it can be fixed “if India becomes a part of the solution rather than remaining outside.” Albright, however, said she was worried that countries now believed that having nuclear weapons capability is regarded as a sign of having arrived. “I don ‘t think that should be the sign of arrival,” Albright said.
She praised Manmohan Singh for making efforts to build stronger ties with Pakistan, referring to his hint of meeting President Pervez Musharraf in Havana. Reporters who hoped to pin her down on Pakistan being the fountainhead of terror in the world, did not succeed.
Albright said that Musharraf was “having difficulty controlling extremists”.
