Despite India rejecting its request for sending troops to Iraq, New Delhi will remain an "important" strategic partner of the US.
"We would have hoped that India would have made a different choice, that they would be there, but I think at the same time (I) need to reiterate that India remains an important strategic partner for the United States and that the continuation of the transformation of Indo-US relations is something that we expect to see," State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said on Monday.
"I would expect us to continue to work with India as a matter of strategic partnership," he said.
Asserting that each country is free to decide whether it wanted to participate in peacekeeping in Iraq, Boucher said "it is a decision that each country needs to make on its own depending on its interests and its concerns about the situation in Iraq."
"Certainly there is ample grounds in Resolution 1483, which encourages countries to participate in stabilization. For many countries to participate, and I think you are aware that we are in discussions with a long list of countries about
participation and the stabilization of Iraq, and we welcome those who have made those decisions to participate," Boucher said.
Asked whether he expects any problems because of India's decision, Boucher repeated: "I would expect us to continue to work with India as a matter of strategic partnership. I am not predicting any particular problem, but I would say that we would have hoped they would be able to go do this in Iraq for, I think, our interests and what we perceive as their interests as well."
No troops for Iraq: Will it hurt ties with US?
Would India's rejection sends a bad signal to other countries that may considering participating? Boucher said: "I don't know that any other country is waiting on India's decision to make their own decision. Many other countries have already made their decision in order to move forward and help stabilize Iraq. The UN Security Council has encouraged countries to do that, and many countries are responding."
Boucher said a "substantial number" of countries want to participate in peacekeeping in Iraq, such as NATO members Poland and Spain.
"I can give you the whole list," he said. "NATO has decided as a group to provide the support that Poland might need to deploy. That is a formal decision of NATO, so, depending on how you count it, there's many countries. That's about as much as I would be able to count for you right off the top of my head."
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