More has Been Read into Obama's Statement: Inderfurth

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New Delhi: A key adviser to US President-elect Barack Obama sought to playdown the Democrat leader's reported suggestion that he could ask former President Bill Clinton to mediate between India and Pakistan, saying "more has been read" into the statement.

Karl Inderfurth, adviser to the US President-elect, said Obama will be a "strong supporter" of the Indo-Pak process aimed at resolving the Kashmir issue.

"From my reading of Obama's comments, I think more has been read into that than he intended," Inderfurth told Outlook in an interview.

In an interview to 'Time' magazine, Obama had said that working with Pakistan and India to try to resolve the Kashmir "crisis in a serious way" would be the "critical tasks" for his administration.

Obama had said he had talked to Clinton on being a special envoy on Kashmir.

Inderfurth, who was Assistant Secretary of State in the Clinton administration, said the Obama government would be a strong supporter of the ongoing dialogue between India and Pakistan aimed at resolving the Kashmir issue.

Citing Indo-Pak backchannel discussions as well as the meeting between the national security advisers of the two countries, Inderfurth said, "that's where the action should be in terms of moving forward on the Kashmir issue through those bilateral channels."

"Obama will be supportive of that process, will encourage that process. You will see President Obama being a strong supporter of that process," Inderfurth said.

Inderfurth also said that he did not see the incoming administration's stance on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty becoming a problem in Indo-US relations, which will "continue on an upward trajectory."

Asked whether the President-elect would press India to sign the CTBT, he said, "Obama believes that the US should ratify the CTBT. He also wants to see greater reductions in our nuclear weapons -- something we will have to work with the Russians.

"If we do these things we will be in much better position to go to other countries, including India, and say let's work together on this."

Inderfurth said that the CTBT won't become a problem between India and the US. "I don't anticipate it being a problem because we have now recognised that we are tied together on these kind of issues and have now surmounted a major obstacle that existed for over a quarter of a century -- and that was being on opposite side of the nuclear cooperation issue.

"We are now partners; it is going to open up a new area for us to deepen our relationship," he said.

Inderfurth said he did not expect the Obama administration to immediately bring about foreign policy shifts because of the ongoing economic crisis.

He said the administration would take immediate steps on three issues -- close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, outlaw torture, and assume leadership role on climate change. "He (Obama) would like to work with India in combating global climate change," Inderfurth said.




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