Washington: The United States will take a decision on supporting India's bid for a permanent UN membership when the report from the Eminent Persons Group going into the matter comes out.

The US was waiting to see the report from the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) that has been appointed and would "react when that comes out", US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters in Washington yesterday (Oct 28, 2004) when asked whether the US, like China, would support India's bid for Permanent Membership of the UN Security Council.

Boucher also made it clear that US has not taken any decision regarding the sale of F-16 fighter aircrafts to Pakistan.

"No decisions have been made on the sale of F-16s to Pakistan. It is the truth. The facts are no decisions have been made," he said.

Asked about the reported statement of Senator Richard Lugar, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, allegedly calling India a rogue State and asking for a Congressional Research Service report on it, Boucher said, "I have never said that (India is a rogue state)."

"I don't know what you are talking about, but I have never said it nor have I ever seen it.... I have never said anything like that nor do I know of anybody in the State Department that has ever said anything like that."

When asked to describe the Indo-US relations, Boucher said, "I feel fine, thank you."

Commenting on a 'Washington Times' report which stated that WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) were moved from Iraq to Syria and from there they went all the way to Pakistan, Boucher said, "These sort of rumours have been around for a long time. As far as I know, they have never been corroborated."