President Barack Obama has assured India that the US-China Joint Statement on Indo-Pak dialogue does not mean involvement of a "third power" in the bilateral engagement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday.
"The reference to South Asia in the US-China Joint Statement is not aimed mediation by any third power (in Indo-Pak dialogue). I am satisfied with what President Obama has assured me," Dr. Singh said addressing a press conference a day before he winds up his five-day visit to the US.
India was upset over the reference to Indo-Pak relations made in a joint statement issued after Obama's talks with his Chinese President Hu Jintao last week and had issued a statement saying that there was role for any third country.
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Referring to Sino-India bilateral relations, Dr. Singh said India welcomed the peaceful rise of China.
"We ourselves are engaged with China for the last five years. We have been discussing the border problems. Meanwhile, our economic relations have grown in their intensity.
"China is one of our major trading partners and therefore we are all in favour of rest of the world engaging with China," Dr. Singh said.
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Dr. Singh said that he did mention to Obama that in the recent weeks and months India has noticed "greater degree of assertiveness" on the part of China.
"But I did not seek any help from the US. We just reviewed the world situation and I am confident that with true, purposeful negotiations between our two countries we can resolve contentious issues," the Prime Minister said.