Silent signal to Bush: Syria on PM itinerary

Even at his party for women journalists this evening, the PM couldn’t resist talking about the impending conflict. ‘‘War clouds are hovering on the horizon. You never know when the war begins but till the last moment, we should try to avoid it,’’ he said, adding, that since Iraq was ready to destroy its weapons, ‘‘more efforts should be made to avert a war.’’

New Delhi’s assessment is that the US will begin a war whether or not the UN Security Council passes a second resolution, and that that should happen around March 18. ‘‘That will give us a clear ten days before the PM’s visit,’’ highly-placed sources here said.

While official sources are playing down the significance of the timing of Vajpayee’s visit to Syria — saying that no bilateral visit has taken place since Rajiv Gandhi went some 15 years ago — fact is that this leg of his trip is already raising eyebrows in diplomatic circles.

Interestingly, while the MEA has deliberately been low-key about articulating India’s position on Iraq, the PM has spoken about the necessity of avoiding war on many recent occasions.

While the Government has preferred to be guided by ‘‘pragmatic’’ positions, that is by the knowledge that it cannot do much if the US is determined to go ahead and therefore it must remain quiet, the PM has spoken his mind each time.