WASHINGTON, April 21: The US has urged India and Pakistan to take steps to encourage strategic stability in the region as only their bilateral cooperation can end tensions and bring prosperity to South Asia.

“It has long been the position of the United States that we think all parties in the region need to think about strategic stability,” said US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher. “We welcome the discussions that the Indians and Pakistanis have had on that subject.”

Mr Boucher, who was briefing journalists from South and Central Asia at his office on Thursday afternoon, said that during his recent trip to the region he had emphasized the need for mutual cooperation to promote regional stability.

“We have had our own discussion with all parties on the question of strategic stability in the region and we think that it is worth pursuing,” he said.

Mr Boucher, who faced a barrage of questions on the recently concluded Indo-US nuclear deal, said the US would not seek any new commitment from India on not conducting nuclear tests as it trusted New Delhi’s voluntary moratorium on future tests.

He played down the controversy created by his earlier call to India to further define its policy of credible minimum nuclear deterrence, saying his remarks were ‘misread.’

Mr Boucher said that like other major nuclear powers, India had decided not to conduct further tests and “it’s on the basis of India’s decision that we have undertaken this (deal for) civil nuclear cooperation” with New Delhi.

Mr Boucher said it was important to remember that the Indo-US agreement was on civilian nuclear cooperation and “in no way it promotes, supports, or encourages further developments on the military side.”