WASHINGTON, Dec 20: US and international diplomatic efforts have brought tensions between Pakistan and India down from “alarming levels”, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Friday.

Prompted by a reporter to assess US-India ties, Fleischer said bilateral relations “are good, they are strong” and went on to say credit outreach to Islamabad and Delhi had gone a long way to defuse tensions.

“The situation between India and Pakistan has been one that has been marked by great tension. There have been moments in this administration where the tension reached alarming levels,” he said.

“As a result of the intervention of the president, the secretary of state, and numerous leaders around the world, including (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin and (British) Prime Minister (Tony) Blair, there is now a markedly diminished point of tension,” said Fleischer.

“The president has met with the prime minister of India on several occasions, and he looks forward to continuing to work on improving US-Indian relations,” the spokesman concluded.—AFP