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The United States Monday reacted cautiously to India's decision not to send troops to Iraq, saying it had hoped that despite opposition, Indian government would have taken a different stand.
"As we have said before, this was a decision for the government of India to make. Our position has been clear on this," a US embassy spokesperson said while reacting to New Delhi's decision not to send troops to Iraq.
"While we had hoped India would take a different decision, the transformation of US-India relations will continue as before. India remains an important strategic partner for the US," the spokesperson said.
Outgoing US Ambassador Robert Blackwill, who had worked hard to convince his India interlocutors in the past weeks, had publicly stuck to the line that the decision to send troops had to be taken by Indian government and that one way or the other it would not affect bilateral ties.
(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2003)
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