Wednesday, March 1 2006 14:44 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: The visit of US President George Bush to India was welcome, but all discussions should be on 'a platform of equality', Janata Party President Dr Subramanian Swamy, said today(Mar 1,2006).

"While China is our neighbour and we must have friendly relations with it, the US is a democracy and so we also need to have friendly relations with it. We need to balance both", he told reporters here.

"Though there were differences with the US, India should accept it as a friend, but without succumbing to its pressures," he said.

He emphasised that India should not have an agreement with the US on any civil nuclear deal unless they (the US) recognised 'India as a nuclear power'.

"India does not need nuclear technology from the US. What it needs is the status of nuclear power and the power of veto in the United Nations", he said.