Washington:
The United States has not been talking to Pakistan about any nuclear deal and it will be in a "listening mode" if the issue is brought before it during the US-Pak Strategic Dialogue in Washington, the State Department said.
"As far as I know, we have not been talking to Pakistan about a civilian nuclear deal. If Pakistan brings it up during the course of the meetings in the next two days, we will be happy to listen," Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley told reporters on Tuesday.
When asked if the civilian nuclear deal with Pakistan has been considered in any of the bilateral working groups, Crowley said: "Well, one of the groups that will meet tomorrow will be focused on energy. If this comes up during the course of the meeting, there will be a press conference tomorrow with Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Qureshi, you can ask if this came up tomorrow."
Crowley said the first ever Cabinet-level Strategic Dialogue signifies the importance and the expanding relationship between the United States and Pakistan.
"We will, of course, talk about security, but, as you see from the agenda, we will talk about a lot of other things," he said.
"Our relationship is growing. It is expanding. We are, in our relationship, trying to understand what it is that Pakistan needs or feels important. We want to continue to find ways to expand interaction with Pakistan and other countries in the region," he said.
His comments assume significance in the wake of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying that the US would "consider" Pakistan's request for a civil nuclear deal. Visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Clinton would co-chair the day-long meeting at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of State Department on Wednesday.
(Read: We will discuss N-deal with Pak, says Hillary)