পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (চতুর্দশ খণ্ড).pdf/২২৯

197 বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ চতুর্দশ খন্ড American intelligence and diplomatic reports said that Mr. Gromyko had told Mr. Dhar that India should act with caution, warning that recognition of Bangladesh could provoke a war. The next step, American sources reported, was for Mr. Gromyko to propose that he visit New Delhi as soon as possible for talks with Mrs. Gandhi and Foreign Minister Swaran Singh. The visit was officially announced last Friday and Mr. Gromyko arrived Sunday. Mr. Gromyko was reported to have told Indian representative in Moscow that he would use "whatever pressure is necessary" to dissuade Mrs. Gandhi from recognizing Bangladesh now. American sources said they understood Moscow was prepared to provide India with additional economic and military aid as a demonstration of support in her dispute with Pakistan. At the same time, however, the Soviet Union was determined to discourage any drastic steps by India that might cause an India-Pakistan war. Officials here recalled that President Agha Mohammad Yahya khan recently warned that war with India was "very near". He had said that if India helped the East Pakistani separatists to seize the state, it would be regarded as an Indian attack on Pakistan and the cause for a war. In recent weeks, working independently, the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China have engaged in diplomatic efforts to cool the tempers in India and Pakistan and avert an outbreak of hostilities. Washington has publicly counseled restraint to both Governments. China, which has close ties with Pakistan, was reported by diplomats last week to have been quietly advising President Yahya to proceed with caution. American officials surmised that Mr. Gromyko was successful in Persuading India when he agreed to sign the friendship treaty immediately. The pact, it was understood had been under negotiation for a number of months but Moscow had not been prepared to sign so quickly. Authoritative sources said, however, that India was eager to sign at once in the light of her mounting dispute with Pakistan. The two countries fought a brief war in 1965, and the. Indians were believed to regard the Soviet pact as a guarantee of her present security. Soviet mediation helped to end the 1965 conflict. It was not known here whether the Soviet Union had also agreed to provide India with new economic and military aid. State Department officials said that India had not notified the United States in advance of a plan to recognize Bangladesh and that they were not aware of any Soviet effort to pass this information on to Washington.