WASHINGTON, Oct 3: President Bill Clinton has written a ``thoughtful and positive'' letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee explaining the deferment of his trip to India and welcoming the progress made in Indo-US talks following the May nuclear tests.Senior administration officials told The Indian Express the communication will keep the two leaders in more frequent contact directly in the weeks ahead as they work more closely to bring the dialogue between the two countries to fruition.Indian diplomats confirmed a letter had been sent but withheld comment pending its receipt in New Delhi where a clutch of holidays is expected to delay an official reaction.This is President Clinton's first formal communication to Prime Minister Vajpayee after the nuclear tests. Clinton did not respond to Vajpayee's letter soon after the nuclear event explaining the rationale behind the tests.The letter, which was sent on Wednesday, signals a ``let's-move-on'' approach after the May tests soured the mood forseveral weeks. Washington also wanted to convey its appreciation of India's changing stand on the test ban treaty, although it is now saying more across-the-board progress needs to be made on a range of proliferation and security-related issues.Senior Clinton administration officials said the President was ``absolutely committed'' to the ongoing dialogue between the twocountries. Washington was in it for the long haul, notwithstanding the postponement of the trip which was best undertaken when more progress had been made, they added.The White House itself was fully involved in the progress of the talks. The President had paid close attention to what Vajpayee said to both the UN General Assembly and the Asia Society in New York, a senior official revealed.``(The President) has two final years of his term. He very much wants to do what he said he wanted to do in his first exchange with Prime Minister Vajpayee, which is to establish the kind of relationship that our two countries have not had in thepast but should have had; one that would take us together into the 21st century,'' the official said.Clinton had written to Vajpayee soon after the latter took office.In broad indications that the flap over the nuclear tests was a thing of the past and ``one has to deal with it from here,'' the official struck a distinctly upbeat tone saying India and the US ``may be further along this relationship now than was possible several months ago.''``The United States has a better appreciation of India's security concerns than we did before. And I have no doubt India has a better appreciation of our security concerns than before,'' the official said.However, Washington did not want the speed of the dialogue to exceed the pace of domestic consensus.``The Prime Minister has to deal with his coalition, with the Opposition, with public opinion. We do not want to push the debate faster than it can be absorbed,'' senior Clinton administration official said.Waiver Bill passedWASHINGTON: The agriculturespending bill, authorising President Bill Clinton to waive the sanctions on India and Pakistan, was passed today by the US House of Representatives.The House voted the bill 333 to 53, completing the first of the three stages to give the President the authority to decide whether the remaining sanctions against the two countries for their nuclear tests should be lifted except for military sales and tansfers and dual use technology.The US Senate is also expected to conduct a similar vote soon which will be followed by a signature by President Clinton, if he desires so.
