Pakistani President Pervez Mush-arraf yesterday reiterated an offer to hold "unconditional" talks with India's prime minister to resolve the tense military standoff between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
But Indian leader Atal Behari Vajpayee, demanding an end to cross-border raids by Islamic militants, has so far ruled out a face-to-face meeting during a 16-nation Asian summit in Kazakhstan.
India and Pakistan have massed about a million troops along their border since a December attack on the Indian parliament which New Delhi blames on Pakistan-based militants fighting its rule in divided Kashmir.
Tensions flared again after militants raided an Indian army camp in Kashmir on May 14, killing more than 30 people.
Musharraf has said he has proposed meeting Vajpayee several times without success. Vajpayee told reporters before leaving India for Kazakhstan: "There is no such plan."
Asked at a news briefing yesterday under what conditions he would be willing to talk to Vajpayee, the Pakistan military ruler replied: "Unconditional. You need to ask that question to Prime Minister Vajpayee. I have no conditions."
Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes to bring them together to end a confrontation the international community fears could set off a nuclear war.
Musharraf has pledged to crack down on cross-border raids, but India says it wants proof, not words.
In the Ukrainian capital Kiev, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told a news conference: "I hope the opportunity that the meeting in Almaty has offered will be used wisely and that the discussions will take us away from the brink."
Asked earlier, before talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, if there was a risk of another war breaking out over Kashmir, Musharraf replied curtly: "I hope not."
Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
Fresh tension erupted yesterday as officials said a Pakistani soldier was killed when the two sides exchanged heavy mortar, machine-gun and small-arms fire.
Russia and China's attempts at conciliation are part of intense diplomatic activity to calm tensions that the US fears could derail its efforts to pursue its war on terror in the wake of Sept. 11 attacks on the US.
Russia has strong economic ties with India, selling it fighter aircraft, battle tanks and other military equipment, while China has been closer to Pakistan.
After meeting Nazarbayev yesterday, Vajpayee blamed regional tension on "border terrorism," but made no direct mention of Pakistan.
"Of course we discussed the tension in South Asia created by border terrorism," Vajpayee said. He spoke in Hindi, with his remarks translated into Russian.
"I am glad that tomorrow's summit will also produce a joint declaration condemning international terrorism. ... We have expressed our hopes that those elements who believe in terrorism and religious extremism should not be indulged and their number should not be allowed to grow," he said.
Russia criticized Pakistan's recent series of missile tests.
"Against the background of the conflict [with India], Pakistan's testing of nuclear rockets was a provocative gesture," Interfax news agency quoted Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as saying.
Altogether 16 nations are taking part in the three-day Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia. The group includes Russia, China, Afghanistan, Israel, Iran, Turkey and the Palestinians. The US, Australia and Japan have observer status.
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