No pact if Taliban has Qaeda links: Kerry

Wants bilateral pact to bolster investment

With India making it clear that the Afghan reconciliation process should not lead to conferring legitimacy to the Taliban and undermine the elected Afghan government,the visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry set the record straight that any political settlement in the war-torn country must result in the Taliban adhering to the redlines.

Kerry,who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday afternoon,said the US is very realistic,since making peace is never easy. He said that no agreement would be rushed through and that a final settlement may be long in coming.

And then,he spelt out the red-lines,And let me be clear: any political settlement must result in the Taliban breaking ties with al-Qaeda,renouncing violence,and accepting the Afghan constitution,including its protections for all Afghans,women and men. Kerry will hold talks with External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday.

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Delivering a public policy speech in New Delhi,he said,One of the most fruitful,meaningful ways to advance economy is your continuing normalization of trade relations with Pakistan. After talking to the leaders of both nations,I believe that new dynamic is beginning to emerge that can develop further.

He said that Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s chief goal is country’s economic revival and that is the goal that India and US share. If India and Pakistan can invest in each other,rest of the world can confidently invest here, he said.

In India to boost the economic relations as part of the 4th Indo-US strategic dialogue,he said that India and US need to conclude a bilateral investment treaty as soon as possible to bolster investors’ confidence. On the Indo-US nuclear deal,he said Washington was committed to the full implementation of the agreement.

That agreement demonstrates our mutual confidence of our strategic partnership. So we look forward to realising the full implementation of this as soon as possible including making progress on the efforts of the Westinghouse,GE and Hitachi to construct nuclear power plants in India,he said.

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Without naming China,he said that India is a key part of US plans for the rebalance in Asia,but he also added that India and US must unite not as a threat or counterweight.

Kerry also made a strong pitch on the need to cooperate on climate change. He also announced a $150,000 aid for the victims of floods in Uttarakhand.