Assuring that the United States "will lend its good offices to the work being done by Pakistan and India", Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday, said: "Both countries "are now moving in the other direction" (of conflict-resolution) and not confrontation.
"And the Pakistani and Indian leaderships both have now decided: let's talk to each other - let's move forward," he added.
He observed this while delivering his remarks on the occasion of George Kennan's Centenary Birthday, at the Princeton University, New Jersey.
"The political negotiations will begin well - will begin soon, and we hope they go well. Political dialogue and genuine conciliation mark the way forward in this new era", said Powell.
"The success we've had with both countries is to let them know that we treat them as two separate countries; we don't see things solely as India-Pakistan. India, Pakistan, India-US, US-Pakistan. We'll lend our good offices to the work you're doing."
Powell said: "Eighteen months ago, one of the great concerns I had as Secretary of State was that a war might break out between these two countries, a war that could possibly go nuclear, since both have nuclear capability."
"But over the last 16 months, we have seen all sides sobered by that possibility of war, and instead they are moving in the other direction", he said, adding: "You don't see a possibility of a major regional war in Europe or in Asia."
He said the possibility of confrontation has been "defused for the moment."
Powell said: "President Musharraf has done the right thing now to get firmer control over Pakistan's technological assets."
"The international web of proliferation that Dr A. Q. Khan used to traffic with Libya, with Iran, with North Korea is being shut down even as I speak", he added.
He said: "The United States, acting in partnership with others, has played a quiet but important role in this reconciliation between India and Pakistan."
Powell said: "Terrorism is a reality," adding: "It is the pre-eminent danger of our age, and that's why defeating terrorism is our number one priority."
Powell said the war on terrorism is even more about preventing the fusion of weapons of mass destruction with terrorist groups trying to acquire them, adding it's about preventing a catastrophe on a scale much larger than what happened on 9/11.
"We're working with others to tighten our grip on the nuclear fuel cycle so that fissile material can't be diverted to military programmes. But at the same time we'll offer more reliable access to nuclear fuel for nations who wish to take advantage of nuclear power for completely peaceful purposes."
He said the United States is also seeking a new UN Security Council resolution to strengthen the international legal regime concerning proliferation.
On Middle East, Powell said the US president has not lost his commitment to finding a solution - "has not stepped back from his vision, and has publicly spoken about settlement activity that has to stop, a better life for the Palestinian people, and we want a state for the Palestinian people."
"And it is one of the most difficult accounts, if I can call it that, that we have to work on, and I've been immersed in it since my first day as Secretary of State", he added.
Responding to a question, Powell said although the Cold War is gone, "it hasn't been easy to rename the world we are in.
"A competition arose to do so, to find a memorable phrase that would organise our thinking and capture the day. Some argued for the 'age of globalisation', some for a 'clash of civilisations,' others for the 'age of American unipolarity,' still others for the 'era of democracy and free markets.' There was merit in each of these catch-phrases, each and every one of these proposals.
Powell said ignorance, lack of law, poverty, disease, and a failure to believe in democracy are our greatest enemies, adding: "We can preach it. People have to believe it. They'll only believe it if they have a better life from it".
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