Holbrooke nixes planned India trip, Mitchell in Abu Dhabi, headed to Damascus, Israel, Egypt, & Bahrain
US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, currently in Afghanistan after meetings in Pakistan, had been scheduled to go to India. But the India portion of his trip has been postponed for another time, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley informed reporters at today’s press briefing. The reason for nixing India this trip? "A ...
US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, currently in Afghanistan after meetings in Pakistan, had been scheduled to go to India. But the India portion of his trip has been postponed for another time, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley informed reporters at today's press briefing.
US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, currently in Afghanistan after meetings in Pakistan, had been scheduled to go to India. But the India portion of his trip has been postponed for another time, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley informed reporters at today’s press briefing.
The reason for nixing India this trip? "A mismatch in terms of scheduling," Crowley said.
QUESTION: As far as the Secretary’s visit to India is concerned, what – the two countries have achieved during her visit or – she got what she wanted? And also, Ambassador Holbrooke is going to stop over in India, I understand?
MR. CROWLEY: On that latter point, I think the Ambassador is not going to stop in India on this trip. There was a mismatch in terms of scheduling. So he will do that on this – on a future trip to the region. I think Secretary Clinton reflected in a number of occasions that we were very satisfied with the trip to India and the launching of a strategic dialogue and an expansion of the range of issues that we will address in future meetings with both countries.
QUESTION: So where do we go now from here – to let’s say, prime minister of India is coming, of course, in November and also in September. And there may be more visits and all that, so where —
MR. CROWLEY: I would expect now the hard – now that you’ve broadened the frame and significantly increased the number of issues that the two countries will address together, now comes the hard work of preparing for these meetings and deepening the cooperation and seeing what progress can be made in all of the working groups that she outlined with her Indian counterpart. …
Saying he didn’t know the reason Holbrooke’s trip was postponed, one former senior U.S. official said, "There’s a hornets nest in India now because of opposition attacks on two parts of the India-Pakistan joint statement just agreed in Sharm el-Sheikh. I suppose it’s possible the Indians didn’t want a discussion about Pakistan with the United States just now. But I doubt that’s the reason."
The people Holbrooke was going to meet with aren’t going to be there, one person familiar with the details said. He will go in a few weeks.
Crowley also informed journalists that U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell is in Abu Dhabi, and will be in Damascus, Syria tomorrow, and in Israel on Sunday for meetings with Israeli officials and Palestinian officials, before heading on to Egypt and Bahrain. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrives in Israel for meetings Monday.
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