India downplays WikiLeaks; says ties with US multi-faceted

New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) Downplaying the WikiLeaks issue,
India Tuesday said it has a multi-faceted and forward-looking
strategic partnership with the US and there was a regular,
open and candid dialogue between the two countries.
While reacting to release of diplomatic cables by
whistle-blower website WikiLeaks, Indian Ministry of External
Affairs(MEA) said, "We would prefer not to comment on the
issue of Wikileaks which purportedly are an account of
privileged internal US government assessments and
correspondence.
"We have a multi-faceted and forward-looking strategic
partnership with the United States and there is a regular,
open and candid dialogue between the two countries, on a
number of matters of mutual interest," the official spokesman
of the MEA said.
As part of its massive leak of a quarter million
classified documents of the US government, the website
released a "secret" cable issued by US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton in which she has described India as a
"self-appointed front-runner" for a permanent UNSC seat.
Clinton had also directed US envoys to seek minute
details about Indian diplomats stationed at the United Nations
headquarters, according to classified documents released by
WikiLeaks.