24 May 2004	Monday	04 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

NEW DELHI, May 23: India's new government, led by the Congress party, will be more restrained in its support of the United States and Israel than the outgoing Hindu nationalists who saw a natural alliance with the two nations.

Analysts say the Congress, which crafted New Delhi's policy of non-alignment during the Cold War, will seek close ties with Washington, but is less likely to go out of the way to accommodate US interests than its predecessor.

"Our foreign policy will not tilt here or there," Congress leader and Natwar Singh told a television channel after he was sworn into the cabinet on Saturday. The Congress and its communist partners, who lend vital support to the coalition, believe the Bharatiya Janata Party tied India's foreign policy too closely to Washington, without really getting much in return.

"I think there will be a lot more emphasis on independent evaluation of Indian interests," said Sandeep Waslekar, president of the International Centre for Peace Initiative. -Reuters