United States today assured India that its concerns in Afghanistan will be looked into. External Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid told reporters after holding talks with his US counterpart John Kerry that holding talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan is an issue which both the sides have discussed. Kerry said Washington will ensure that none of India's concerns on talks with Taliban are overlooked or undermined.

He said Afghanistan's High Peace Council will hold talks if Taliban agree to renounce violence and severe its relations with Al Qaeda. To another question on reconciliation process in Afghanistan, Mr. Kerry said US will continue to support the Afghan government and its military well beyond 2014.

He defended the NSA's surveillance programme saying it has avoided terrorist acts and saved lives. He, however, denied that it violated the civil liberties clarifying that the contents of individual phone calls or e-mails are not monitored. He said the random checking is done just to find out if there is any linkage of the suspected numbers or e-mail id to any terrorist group.

The two countries reaffirmed their commitment to full and timely implementation of the civil nuclear deal. Addressing a Joint Press Conference along the two leaders said that US is committed to take relationship with India to new heights. He said both the countries also reaffirmed on the shared common interests in Asia, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Earlier in the day, both the leaders co-chaired the 4th India-US Strategic Dialogue.