India awaits outcome of Bush-Musharraf talks

PTI, New Delhi
Voicing concern over continuing cross-border terrorism, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Sunday said that India would await the outcome of talks between Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf and US President George W Bush at Camp David on June 24.

"Our concerns are on cross-border terrorism which should stop. Our friends (in the international community) have agreed with us on this score," Vajpayee told reporters at the airport shortly before emplaning for a six-day visit to China.

Asked about his expectations from the Musharraf-Bush talks, he said, "Let us see what emerges out of it and what measures follow."

To a question on China's close ties with Pakistan, the Prime Minister said that he had talked with Chinese President Hu Jintao in St Petersburg in Russia recently and he was looking forward to holding wide-ranging discussions with top Chinese leadership including his counterpart Wen Jiabao.

Declaring that India accorded "top priority" to its ties with China, Vajpayee said that his government wanted to tackle the new challenges and move on the road to progress in co-operation with Beijing.

"I am confident that the visit would have a positive outcome. My message to China is that of friendship," Vajpayee, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit china in last 10 years, said.

On the vexed boundary dispute, Vajpayee said, "Talks have been taking place with China on this issue and we want to take them forward."

"While talks are taking place on the border question, we are also focussing on how to move ahead in other areas of our relationship with Beijing," he said.

Observing that the two neighbours have developed a wide canvas of mutually beneficial co-operation, the Prime Minister said "particularly over the last few years, we have been developing and diversifying our relations, even while simultaneously addressing our differences".