U/S BURNS AND FM KRISHNA DISCUSS PM VISIT, AF-PAK,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002147 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2020 TAGS: PREL PTER PINS MASS IN SUBJECT: U/S BURNS AND FM KRISHNA DISCUSS PM VISIT, AF-PAK, IRAN, SRI LANKA, AND INDIA-CHINA TENSIONS Classified By: Under Secretary for POLITICAL Affairs William J. Burns f or Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: In an October 15 meeting, Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna told U/S Burns that Indian Prime Minister Singh looks forward to a productive state visit to the U.S. in November. He took on board Burns' message on the need to complete remaining Civil Nuclear Initiative steps prior to the November visit, as well as the importance of cooperation on climate change in advance of the Copenhagen summit. Krishna expressed disappointment over Pakistan's lack of progress in prosecuting alleged perpetrators of last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and noted a lack of coordination between Pakistan's civilian government and military. Krishna welcomed U/S Burns' readout of recent talks with Iran in Geneva and pledged Indian support for private messages urging Iran to abide by its commitments. Krishna expressed optimism about progress to alleviate the plight of IDPs in Sri Lanka and decried local media exaggeration of India-China tensions. He acknowledged, however, that he would soon be meeting his Chinese counterpart to discuss "issues and concerns." End Summary. PM Visit, Civ-Nuke, Climate Change -------------- ¶2. (C) Joined by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Krishna opened the cordial 45-minute meeting by offering congratulations to President Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, adding that he was impressed with the humility the President displayed in accepting the honor. He remarked that the President was "gracious" to invite PM Singh to make the first state visit of his administration and that the PM looks forward to a productive visit. Krishna and U/S Burns discussed various Strategic Dialogue deliverables for the visit, including a MOU on law enforcement/CT cooperation, the re-launching of a CEO forum, a U.S.-India higher education initiative, new cooperation on health and medical research, and a "Green Initiative" that reflects priorities of both governments in clean energy and food security. Later in the meeting, the Ambassador highlighted our unprecedented level of bilateral sharing of information about security threats, and he expressed hope that this effort would continue and expand. ¶3. (C) Turning to the issue of climate change, Burns said the 
PM's visit would occur on the eve of the COP-15 Conference in Copenhagen and that it was important for both countries to cooperate on this important and high-profile issue. He stated that Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen had floated a proposal to achieve a short POLITICAL accord at Copenhagen, and Krishna noted that Rasmussen had been in New Delhi three weeks ago to sound out Indian views on the upcoming conference. Pakistan -------------- ¶4. (C) Krishna stated he had a frank exchange of views with Pakistani FM Qureshi in a New York meeting two weeks ago: while he had been impressed by Qureshi's apparent sincerity during the meeting, he has since been "disappointed" by Pakistan's lack of progress in prosecuting alleged perpetrators of last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai. He stated that Qureshi had given him a prosecution "roadmap" at the meeting, but the Pakistan government has not adhered to the roadmap's timing since the meeting. Noting that Indian leaders must be mindful of public opinion on Pakistan policy, Krishna said that Pakistan's lack of Mumbai-related law enforcement progress has made it difficult to convince the Indian public that th GOI should move forward on the dialogue process. ¶5. (C) Burns said the USG was pushing the Pakistanis hard to move against terrorists and to crack down against Lashkar-e-Taiba, but we have been disappointed with the Pakistani response so far. On the relationship between Pakistan's civilian and military leaders, Krishna noted "there does not seem to be total coordination" and said that NEW DELHI 00002147 002 OF 002 extremists in Pakistan are growing stronger every day. Krishna said the GOI seeks a stable Pakistan for the sake of regional stability, and it wants Pakistan's civilian government to "assert itself" and for the military to play a subordinate role. Afghanistan -------------- ¶6. (C) U/S Burns expressed condolences over the recent attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul and stated that we value India's contribution in Afghanistan. Touching briefly on the ongoing Afghanistan policy review, he stated that whatever decisions are taken regarding troop levels will reflect America's strong and abiding commitment to Afghanistan. Krishna stated India's efforts in Afghanistan are important and that GOI security measures taken after a 2008 bombing of the embassy prevented a much greater loss of life in the recent attack. Iran -------------- ¶7. (C) U/S Burns briefed on the recent P5 1 talks with Iranian officials in Geneva. He asked for GOI assistance in urging Iran to follow-through on the commitments it made in Geneva. Krishna said that India was pleased that the situation was being addressed through negotiations. He pledged to be helpful, adding that "we will certainly do what we can" to assist P5 1 efforts. Sri Lanka -------------- ¶8. (C) U/S Burns said the U.S. would continue to press the Sri Lankan government to address concerns relating to the welfare and freedom of movement of large numbers of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) who are currently held in camps. Krishna stated that a delegation of Tamil Nadu-based parliamentarians had recently visited the camps and came away with an overall positive impression that the IDP situation is improving. Foreign Secretary Rao said delegation members were told by Sri Lankan officials that 58,000 IDPs would soon be re-settled, but the Foreign Ministry had yet to get a thorough read-out from the delegation about a resettlement time-frame. China -------------- ¶9. (C) In reply to a question about the current state of India-China relations, Krishna sighed that Indian media are exaggerating tensions between the two nations. In fact, Indian military field commanders in the border region report that the border situation has remained unchanged with no increase in the number of incursions. Krishna acknowledged, however, that "there are issues, there are concerns" between India and China. He added that he hopes to discuss such matters with his Chinese counterpart on October 27 when foreign ministers from China and Russia visit New Delhi for Trilateral talks. ROEMER