US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI2682

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002682 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KNNP, ETTC, IN, PK, UNSC, NSSP 
SUBJECT: NATWAR LOOKS AHEAD TO UN AND NUCLEAR DISCUSSIONS 
IN WASHINGTON 
 
Classified By: Ambassador David Mulford, for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1. (C) Summary: In an April 8 meeting with the Ambassador and 
PolCouns, Foreign Minister Natwar Singh offered an upbeat 
preview of his April 13-14 meetings in Washington, placing 
particular importance on the issues of India's role in the UN 
and India's quest for access to US origin nuclear power 
technology.  Alluding to the challenges of defending 
government policy in a Parliamentary system, Natwar indicated 
that this would be a high stakes visit for him and the 
US-India relationship.  He spoke very warmly of the 
Secretary's recent visit to New Delhi, saying again how 
 
SIPDIS 
impressed everyone in the GOI had been with her presentation. 
 He echoed these views in an April 8 television interview, 
lending credence to the theory that the Foreign Minister's 
trip will form part of a wider effort to silence leftist 
critics of the US-India partnership.  In his meeting with the 
Ambassador, Natwar was surprisingly positive in describing 
President Musharraf's support for the April 7 Kashmir bus 
launch, but he also worried about the Pakistani President's 
plan to grandstand when he comes to Delhi for the April 17 
cricket match. End Summary. 
 
Strategic Initiative 
-------------------- 
 
2. (C) Responding to the Ambassador's outline of the US 
agenda and goals for the Foreign Minister's April 13-14 
meetings in Washington, Natwar expressed hope that the visit 
will be as important to the Administration as it is to him. 
He spoke later about the challenges of making policy in a 
Parliamentary democracy, describing how India's regional 
parties tend to pursue parochial agendas, with a "loose 
cannon" approach that makes it hard to innovate.  Alluding to 
outspoken leftist criticism of the US initiative, Natwar 
predicted that Parliamentary skeptics will start asking "why 
did you go to Washington" questions as soon as he returns. 
(For now this left criticism has mainly a nuisance value, but 
it could become more of a problem if the Minister has nothing 
to show for his Washington visit.) 
 
3. (C) Asked about his own priorities, the Foreign Minister 
first raised the issue of India's role in international 
institutions.  The Ambassador made clear that we are not at 
the point where the US will be making any commitments on UNSC 
reform, but noted our intention to continue making "forward 
leaning statements" about India's role in international 
institutions.  Responding to our agenda for the Energy 
Dialogue, Natwar said he was pleased "that some movement is 
taking place on the nuclear side."  The Ambassador noted that 
we are looking for movement from India on the NSSP, to 
include introduction and passage of export control 
legislation during this session of Parliament.  Turning to 
the question of Manmohan Singh's travel to Washington, the 
Ambassador argued that it would be a mistake to defer this 
visit until the UNGA in September, as some in the press have 
suggested might happen.  Natwar observed that the PM's 
calendar is very full, but said he would work on this, and 
noted the high caliber delegation he is taking to Washington, 
including Montek Singh Ahulwalia, the PM's key economic 
advisor. 
 
4. (U) Natwar echoed many of these themes in an April 8 
television interview, stating that he welcomed "the 
improvement in our relations and the raising of our relations 
to a much higher level."  He downplayed disagreements with 
the US over supply of F-16's to Pakistan, declaring that 
India's relationship with the US "has reached a level of 
maturity where we can live with our differences without our 
relations being affected adversely."  He emphasized that "no 
aspect will be left out" of his discussions in Washington. 
The Foreign Minister also disavowed earlier statements that 
"as a non-aligned country, India could not be the natural 
ally of a NATO power," dismissing it as a relic of the "old 
Natwar."  He emphasized that as "the Foreign Minister of 
India, it is my principal duty to ensure that India's vital 
national interests are never compromised and for that it is 
essential for us to have the closest relations with the 
United States." 
 
5.  (C) GOI insiders tell us the "new Natwar" is part of a 
strategy to bring Leftist opponents of the US-India 
relationship around.  Proponents of closer India/US ties 
believe that Natwar has solid credentials with the Left and 
can act as a "stalking horse" for change in policy.  The key 
to this strategy is a successful Washington visit that rebuts 
those who contend that the US initiative is just empty 
rhetoric. 
 
Upbeat on the Kashmir Bus 
------------------------- 
 
6. (C) Turning to the April 7 Kashmir bus launch, Natwar 
commented that "if it hadn't happened yesterday, it wouldn't 
have worked at all."  He noted that "the terrorists were 
convinced we'd not go through with it" and recalled how even 
the BJP was calling for postponement after the April 6 attack 
in Srinagar.  He was grateful for US offers of security 
assistance.  The Foreign Minister was surprisingly positive 
about Musharraf's role, complementing the Pakistani President 
for "taking a decisive view" even though some in the GOP 
opposed it.  "The bus couldn't have gotten on the road 
without him," the Minister added.  Natwar was more skeptical 
about Musharraf's plans to visit Delhi (a trip that will 
begins as the Foreign Minister steps off the plane from 
Washington).  Noting that the visit has grown from a few 
hours to "2 days and 2 nights," Natwar predicted that cricket 
will now be a "side show."  He noted that the Pakistanis have 
already invited a group of journalists to breakfast, and 
predicted that Musharraf will "hold forth on Kashmir." 
"We'll talk to him," Natwar added, clarifying that 
Musharraf's "harping on Kashmir" is accepted as part of the 
dialogue process. 
MULFORD