Indian Defence Minister said late Tuesday that New Delhi would insist on proper authentication by Pakistan of the troop positions in Siachen before any disengagement is undertaken and cautioned against expecting any “dramatic” result from the next round of talks in June on the vexed issue.
A K Antony said in the Rajya Sabha that India stood by its stand on authentication and had neither hardened nor softened its position.
“Some people have said we are hardening our position on Siachen, some say we have softened the position. We have neither hardened nor softened our position. We are standing where we were,” he said, replying to a debate on the functioning of the Defence Ministry.
While informing the House that the 13th round of Defence Secretary-level talks on Siachen will take place in the second week of next month, Antony said during the last round Pakistan had refused to authenticate the troop positions of the two countries but India insisted on it.
“Don’t expect dramatic results from the next round of talks. It is a complicated issue,” he said.
Making it clear that India was keen on authentication and had “not changed the position”, he said, “it is the national position, not government position. We took the position after considered decision.”
Siachen talks in June: Antony
