The US said India is "moving in the wrong direction" in terms of its efforts to create a credible nuclear deterrent as disclosed in the draft nuclear doctrine released by the country's National Security Advisory Board.

The US National Security Council spokesman David Leavy said Clinton had sent Vajpayee and Sharif "letters over the weekend, again urging restraint and urging a resumption of the Lahore dialogue that is the foundation of the engagement between the two sides."

"In addition to that," Leavy said, "we will continue to make it clear to both sides that it's our hope that they can engage directly on adhering or eventually ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is so much in our owninterests and in the interests of both sides." Asked if Clinton, in his missives, had said anything about the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons by either side drawing "an American response," Leavy replied in the negative. Leavy was very general in his answers to Washington's reaction on India's draft doctrine of credible nuclear deterrence. But the state department spokesman James Rubin, while acknowledging that the US had yet to examine the document, criticised New Delhi's plans in this sphere.

Leavy said, "during the past year, we have made it clear to both sides that it's our best judgments that their own security is not enhanced by having nuclear weapons...that in fact the presence of nuclear weapons on the subcontinent raises the possibility of an arms race that's in no one's interest."

Recalling that deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott has been "engaged on this issue" and has met the "parties over eight times," Leavy said, "We're trying to make the case that their security is moreenhanced in the absence of nuclear weapons."

But Rubin was much more direct. "The Indians have been saying for some time that they would produce such a doctrine. They did not share this document with us prior to its release," he said. Rubin acknowledged that the draft doctrine "will certainly be a subject for discussion at our next session" and, according to sources, it could be as early as next month when Talbott and India's external affairs minister Jaswant Singh meet in New York on the fringes of the United Nations general assembly.

Although Rubin made no bones about Washington's displeasure over India's stated policy to pursue a credible nuclear deterrence, he noted, "we think, overall, our dialogue has been productive."

Echoing the sentiments of his White House colleague that "nuclear weapons do not contribute to greater security in South Asia," Rubin made it clear that the US would "continue its efforts to denuclearise the subcontinent."

"Clearly, they are moving in the wrong direction bytrying to create such a capability," he said, and added, "this is a case we will continue to make with them." He discounted India's need for such a credible nuclear deterrent vis-a-vis its threat perceptions, whether it be China or Pakistan, saying, "to develop a nuclear weapon capability, to develop an elaborate deterrent and then to encourage an arms race by both India and Pakistan, we think at the end of that process, the security of India and Pakistan will be worse off for both of them if they move in that direction."

Rubin reiterated that "it would be unwise to move in the direction of developing a nuclear deterrent and encouraging the other country to develop a similar one and thereby creating an action-reaction cycle that will increase the risks to both countries."

"We think that India has taken some positive steps on areas of concern to us," he said. "For example, India declared a moratorium on further nuclear testing and publicly committed to move towards adherence to the CTBT by September1999."

Rubin noted only this week Vajpayee had stated "that he wants to build a consensus on the comprehensive test ban to allow the new government to approve India's joining the treaty."

"However, we will encourage India to take additional steps to demonstrate its declared intention to avoid a nuclear and missile race with its neighbours," he added.