US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday listed "stopping" a war between India and Pakistan as an achievement of the Bush administration.
At a meeting with journalists, he recalled how the two countries mobilised their armies almost two years ago. "There was a great deal of discussion and commentary about these two nuclear powers... There was a great deal of concern. It was international diplomacy led by the US that went to the task of talking to these two nations," he said.
"I went there several times. My French colleague went there several times. My British colleague went there several times. My European Union colleague, Javier Solana, went there several times. The Canadians were there. We were in constant touch with the Chinese foreign minister and Chinese leadership about this danger," he said.
"As a result of those efforts, we were able to bring caution and prudence to the equation and found a way for that situation to be defused.
"And after more diplomacy on our part and the part of our friends and colleagues, working with them internationally, in an international framework, we were able to persuade the Indians and the Pakistanis that they should start talking to one another again
"In January of this year, [India and Pakistan] produced a framework agreement. And then bus travel started and air travel started and the two leaders [President Pervez Musharraf and the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee] got together recently.
"And they have a plan as to how to go forward and deal with all their outstanding issues.
"But it takes time and it isn't always a breakthrough," he said.
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