US cautious on prospects of supply routes reopening

The United States administration is reacting cautiously to the reports of potential reopening of NATO supply routes from Pakistan, in an apparent bid to wait until the agreement on all contentious points is reached between both countries.The Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence for Public Affairs, George Little, in response to a question at Pentagon Wednesday, said that our team continues to hold discussions with our Pakistani counterparts on reopening of the supply routes. I dont believe a final decision has been reached by the Pakistanis, he opined.Thats of course for Pakistan to speak to and theyre working through their own process, at this stage, to examine the potential reopening of the GLOCs, he said when asked about the statements made by Pakistani leadership after the Defence Coordination Committee (DCC) meeting on Tuesday.These routes, of course, remain important to us and we hope they will reopen, he said while admitting that it was costlier to use the northern distribution network. We are confident that we are able to manage the supplies in and out of Afghanistan. So its, we do believe that the GLOCs ground supply routes of Pakistan help our logistical support system, it stands to reason. So having both as options, naturally, thats preferable, he emphasised.When asked who was part of the team, negotiating with Pakistan in Islamabad, he said that ISAF and other officials had held discussions at different levels with Pakistan over time. Gen. Allen has had discussions with Pakistani counterparts, and other levels, but the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta has not had discussions on this issue, he stated.We of course have ODRP (Office of the US defense representative in Pakistan) in the embassy. These discussions with Pakistan are ongoing. Weve had officials here from the politics side of the house engaged as well, he maintained while refusing to divulge on the specifics of discussions in Pakistan.In another briefing at the State Department, spokesperson, Victoria Nuland also believed that the technical discussions with Pakistan on reopening of NATO supply routes were still underway. There are a number of issues that need to be finished, and we are not done until all of these are tackled, she asserted.On the stance of Pakistani leadership, she termed these as positive political statements and signals from the Pakistani leadership but the routes have not yet reopened, she said.Pakistan has endorsed the conclusion of negotiations and that is a strong signal for teams involved in the process, she added.When asked about the urgency before Chicago summit, she agreed that there was an urgency to be able to support Afghanistan from Pakistan. We would have liked such situation not to have arisen in the first place. If we can get these routes re-opened before Chicago summit, it will send a very strong signal to everybody, she said.Ms. Nuland, however, refused to answer the question of the US not apologising to Pakistan on Salala attack. Some issues raised by Pakistan are well-known and it will not be helpful if we discuss these before the end of negotiations, she said when asked whether US is ready to accept Pakistani demands that it will not allow arms to be transported in NATO trucks, will levy new taxes and is demanding outstanding CSF funds worth $2.1 billion before budget.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC