White House rules out apology to Pakistan over November NATO strike

Islamabad, May 24 (ANI): The White House has ruled out an apology to Islamabad for the November 26 incident in which a NATO cross border strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, and said it is time that both countries move ahead.

The refusal comes two days after Pakistan People's Party leader Bilawal Bhutto demanded an apology for the incident.

"I wouldn't have anything new to offer on that beyond what we have said, that we deeply regret the incident. We have thoroughly investigated it. We shared the results of that investigation with the Pakistanis," The Nation quoted Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor, as saying.

"We believe there's a basis for us to move forward and move beyond that particular incident, to take steps to make sure that that doesn't happen again, to be respectful of Pakistani sovereignty and to be in, frankly, better communication in that areas so that we don't see repeated incidents on the border," Rhodes added.

Commenting on the U.S. President Barack Obama's refusal to meet Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari at the NATO Summit in Chicago, Rhodes said a bilateral meeting between Obama and Zardari was never planned on the sidelines of the Summit. He said the meeting with President Karzai was a priority as Afghanistan was the focus of the summit. (ANI)