"It was one of the most stupid thing to do," a top American leadership is learnt to have said, referring to the damage the diplomat case has done to the India-US ties.
In fact a source pointed that the level of "furious reaction" in the top American leadership was similar to that of India.
"If the Indians were furious, so were we."
It is one of the reasons why, Kerry in the middle of his overseas trip, made it a point to reach out to external affairs minister Salman Khurshid and since he could not be available at that time, he spoke with National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon.
During the conversation, Kerry is believed to have apologised for the incident, sources said.
But the public statement issued by the State Department noted that Kerry expressed his regret to Menon.