WASHINGTON, FEB 6: The White House on Friday said President Clinton was not ready for complete lifting of sanctions against India and Pakistan, but suggested enough progress has been made for easing some of it in the coming weeks.In a significant take of the President's view on Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott's visit to the region last week, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said while there were no breakthroughs in the meetings, ``Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott believes - or is satisfied with the outcome'' and found them to be most productive talks to date.``So it's important that we continue these. I believe that there will be another round of these talks in the near future. And he was quite pleased with the progress,'' Lockhart added.Asked specifically if the President is ready to lift sanctions against India and Pakistan and if they were going to be lifted case-by-case or both together, Lockhart first replied with a firm `No', and then cryptically added, `Week ahead.' He declined toelaborate.The latest White House line is consistent with the Clinton administration's tack of incrementally easing sanctions in response to actions taken by India on the non-proliferation front, as opposed to the outright and one-time lifting of sanctions.Since the May 1998 nuclear tests, the Clinton administration has only gradually relaxed sanctions each time New Delhi has made a conciliatory gesture. Prime Minister Vajpayee's pledge not to hold up CTBT beyond September 1999 pending successful dialogue with the US resulted in Washington easing up on the lending activities of US agencies like OPIC and the EXIM Bank. And New Delhi's indication last week that it will possibly sign the treaty by mid-year is resulting in a further easing of Washington's hard-line position on World Bank loans to India, perhaps as early as next week.But the two sides are far from achieving the pre-May 1998 position and the latest White House comments only confirms the impression. Despite the bonhomous atmosphere afterthe last round of talks, and the emphasis on elegant diplomatese to characterise the proceedings, some really hard bargaining is going on.New Delhi has also made it clear that it's long term goal is not just a return to the pre-May 1998 situation, but removal of sanctions that stretch all the way back to the 1978 Nuclear Non-proliferation Act.Earlier at the same White House briefing, when asked why the President has referred specifically to India during his call for peace at the National Prayer Breakfast meeting, Lockhart said, ``I suggest that India is often in his thoughts.''
