BLAKE-INDO-PAK 2 LST

Blake also welcomed the statement of Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh that Pakistan should not consider
India a threat.
"We've welcomed the decision by Pakistan to redeploy
troops away from the Indian border to the principal area of
focus, which is, as you say, along the border areas between
Pakistan and Afghanistan," he said.
"So, we hope that that will continue to be the focus of
the Pakistani military and therefore, as you say, peace
between the two countries of India and Pakistan is very
essential to that effort in the border areas," he said.
In terms of the talks between India and Pakistan, "it
will really be up to those two governments to determine the
pace and the scope of those talks, and that's something that
we will certainly encourage both of our friends to do.
But, the ultimate decision will be theirs," Blake said.
Noting that the US has successfully de-hyphenated its
relations with India and Pakistan, Blake said they are both
extremely important to America, but very, very different, as
well.
"And, right now, I think you've seen the United States
does not only place an important focus on India, but also on
Pakistan. As we look at the whole strategy in Afghanistan and
Pakistan, I think everybody understands that we are never
going to be able to have success in stabilising Afghanistan
without the full participation of Pakistan," he said.
Observing that India is going to be an increasingly
important factor in the 21st century, Blake said the Obama
Administration believes the Indo-US ties would turn out to be
the most consequential of the US foreign policy. PTI