Menon holds talks with Hillary Clinton

Washington, March 10 (DPA) Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday, beginning the first high level talks between the two countries under the Obama administration.

US State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters before the meeting that the two leaders would discuss the conflict in Afghanistan and other issues, including the investigation into the Nov 26 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 170 people.

India has blamed militants operating in nuclear rival Pakistan for the attacks and has accused Islamabad of not sufficiently cooperating in the investigation. Wood said more can be done.

'Overall our assessment has been that Pakistan has been providing some helpful information, but clearly, you know, more can be done,' Wood said. 'And what's critical here is that we do everything in our power to try to bring the folks who were responsible for those attacks to justice.'

As President Barack Obama reviews the US strategy in Afghanistan, Washington has identified India as a key country for helping with the stabilisation effort.