India to brief U.S. official on summit

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 18. The visiting Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, Gen. Henry H. Shelton, will be the first high-level official from Washington to be briefed about the Agra summit between the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Pakistan's President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

In the first ever visit by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Shelton, who arrived here this evening, is expected to discuss regional and international security issues including developments in South Asia, the Persian Gulf and post- Pokhran sanctions on India. Sources, however, clarified that Gen. Shelton has not been specially flown in for a briefing on the summit. His visit had been scheduled for May 31 but had to be postponed on account of the U.S. defence review.

Gen. Shelton will hold talks with the Defence Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh. The Chief of Naval staff, Admiral Sushil Kumar, who is also the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff committee, will be his host during his three-day stay.

Gen. Shelton will also meet the Defence Secretary, Mr. Yogendra Narain. This meeting acquires importance as the Indo- U.S. defence dialogue which is headed by the Defence Secretaries is yet to be resumed after the Pokhran nuclear blasts. While the U.S. has indicated its willingness to restart the talks, the Indian side has insisted that this dialogue could resume only after the U.S. sanctions against it are lifted.

Gen. Shelton's visit follows high-level discussions between the two countries. The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. Richard Armitage, has already visited India to discuss a new global security architecture revolving around the National Missile Defences (NMD). The National Security Adviser, Mr. Brajesh Mishra, has visited the U.S. last month and held talks with Mr. Armitage and his counterpart in Washington, Dr. Condoleeza Rice.

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