US-Pak have made considerable progress on NATO routes

Washington, May 15: The US today said it had made "considerable progress" with

in negotiations on the re-opening of the

supply routes to Afghanistan, on the eve of crucial meetings in Pakistan to discuss the issue.

"My understanding this morning is that they (US-Pak teams) have made considerable progress, but they are still working. They are not yet finished with the Pakistanis," State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told reporters at her daily news conference.

It is an inter-agency team from the US led by the State Department which is holding talks with their Pakistani counterparts, she said.

"I'm not going to get into the substance of the discussion, but we're having a full review with the government of Pakistan on how this transit system works. And all of the issues are on the table in that context," she said, responding to a question.

She said the US and Pakistan have been working on the issue for a long time, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton too had spoken with her Pakistani counterpart, Hina Rabbani Khar recently to kick off the whole re-engagement strategy.

"It was in that context that we began the formal written negotiations on the GLOC(s)," she said. "We haven't yet completed the negotiations," she said.

"There is a full discussion under way about all aspects of this, but we haven't yet come to a conclusion on all the pieces," she added.

PTI