The flip-flop approach of New Delhi's stand on the use of nuclear weapons came as Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Kazakhstan prepared for Tuesday's regional security summit in Almaty, also attended by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

The Indian defence ministry in New Delhi appeared to contradict the explosive comments of Defence Secretary Yogendra Narain, the military's seniormost civilian boss.

"The government makes it clear that India does not believe in the use of nuclear weapons. Neither does it visualise that it will be used by any other country," the ministry said.

"As a responsible nation India feels it will be imprudent to use such weapons," it added.

The ministry statement appeared to be a damage control exercise following Narain's comments that India would retaliate with nuclear weapons if Pakistan used its nuclear arsenal, and that both countries must be prepared for "mutual destruction."

National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra, who is also camping in Almaty, bluntly backed his bureaucrat colleague Narain but did not name Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India since 1947.

"Of course not, it is not ruled out," Mishra said in a reply to queries if India would retaliate with such weapons following a nuclear strike by Pakistan.

"We want to use it as a deterrent but obviously if somebody attacks us, then there will be a response. (But) we don't want to indulge in any loose talk about nuclear weapons. We want to avoid it totally," said Mishra, one of India's 10 most powerful men.

After testing five nuclear devices in May 1998, India put a moratorium on further tests and said its stockpile was built on the policy of minimum credible deterrence and that it would follow a no-first-use rule.

Pakistan conducted rival tests the same month, but gave no such assurances.

The two rivals have placed one million troops on their borders following an attack on the Indian parliament in December, which New Delhi blames on Pakistan-based Muslim guerrillas.

Narain and Mishra's remarks appeared diametrically opposite to the comments of Defence Minister George Fernandes who at a regional security meeting in Singapore ruled out any use of nuclear bombs in the event of war with Pakistan.

Mishra in Almaty argued that Fernandes was only reiterating India's policies of no-first-use and possessing such weapons as a deterrent.

"I don't see any contradiction. He (Fernandes) is talking about nuclear weapons as a deterrent. There is nothing new. He is only reiterating our policy," Mishra said.

Narain also said in an interview with Outlook magazine that India's command-and-control, or the nuclear button, was in place and ready to use.

It was the first such public comment by a senior bureaucrat on India's nuclear command structure.

Narain's warning came a day after Musharraf dismissed as "absolutely baseless" charges that Pakistan had moved nuclear missiles to the border.

US Praises Putin Mediation Effort Little Rock (AFP) June 3, 2002 - The White House on Monday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin's bid to use a regional summit in Kazakhstan to haul nuclear rivals India and Pakistan back from the brink of war. "We do appreciate the efforts by President Putin to help reduce tensions and bring the countries together in dialogue," spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters aboard President George W. Bush's Air Force One airplane. Putin has offered to mediate between the two South Asian rivals on the sidelines of the June 3-5 conference in Almaty, which will discuss confidence-building measures in Asia. "It's part of the overall effort by the international community to help move the countries toward de-escalation," McClellan said as Bush headed here for a day-long trip. Both Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee are slated to attend the gathering. But Indian Deputy Foreign Minister Omar Abdullah reiterated New Delhi's position that direct talks with Pakistan would not take place unless there were clear signs of a reduction in the number of militants crossing into Indian-administered Kashmir. Putin is expected to meet both South Asian rivals separately on the sidelines of the Almaty gathering, Russian officials say. Analysts say the Russian leader is trying to avert the looming threat of war between the two nuclear-armed rivals and boost Moscow's profile by taking a leadership role in resolving conflicts around the world.

India's missile capabilities match Pakistan's but Delhi has numerical superiority over its South Asian rival in terms of ballistic missiles and stockpiled nuclear warheads.

Around 16 European countries as well the United Nations have advised families of diplomats and personnel to leave India and Pakistan because of fears of a war between the two regional foes.

The neighbours have amassed a million troops on their borders, but their leaders are attending a regional security summit in Kazakhstan, which aims to defuse the tensions of the two South Asian rivals over disputed Kashmir.

Putin Hopes To Broker A Deal
Against this backdrop, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan Monday to help mediate between India and Pakistan in their dispute over Kashmir on the sidelines of a regional summit due to start Tuesday, his press office said.

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) will bring together 16 Asian nations and is the brainchild of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who called for its creation in a speech to the United Nations in October 1992.

The conference in the Kazakh economic capital Almaty comes as a tailor-made opportunity to defuse the tensions between India and Pakistan over divided Kashmir, having been conceived as a forum for discussing regional stability and security with an emphasis on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will attend the meeting.

Putin is to have a series of talks with both leaders late Tuesday in a bid to ease tensions between the two nuclear rivals.

In his efforts he will have the support of Chinese President Jiang Zemin whose country is a traditional ally of Pakistan because of its own antagonism with India.

On the other hand, Moscow which is India's main arms supplier has been close to New Delhi since the Soviet era.

India has ruled out tripartite talks with Russia and Pakistan but said it was willing to take "appropriate steps" to avoid an open conflict in South Asia if promises made by Islamabad were verifiably carried out.

Between them, India and Pakistan have massed nearly a million war-ready troops along their common borders, and New Delhi says it will withdraw only when Islamabad reins in what it calls "cross-border terrorism."

More than 35,000 people have died in Kashmir since the eruption of armed militancy in 1989.

The 16 CICA members are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. There are 10 observers including Vietnam, Japan and the United States.

All rights reserved. � 2002 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related Links
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