Bush Calls Pakistani, Indian Leaders Over Tension

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, December 30, 2001

Bush Calls Pakistani, Indian Leaders Over Tension

U.S. President George W. Bush called Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Bihari Vajpayee on Saturday morning to discuss how to defuse the rising tension between the two South Asian countries.

Bush, calling from his private ranch in Crawford, Texas, thanked Pakistan for its "continued support" in U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

He, who praised Musharraf for arresting 50 leading members of two Kashmiri militant groups on Friday, urged the Pakistani president to take additional strong and decisive measures to "eliminate" extremists.

In his phone call to Vajpayee, Bush again condemned the December 13 attack on India's parliament in New Delhi, saying that the U.S. is "determined to cooperate with India in the fight against terrorism."

McClellan sad Bush also urged both leaders to work to ease tensions between their two countries which have been rising since the December 13 incident.

Bush also called British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss the India-Pakistan crisis, McClellan said.

Blair is reportedly to travel to the South Asian region in the coming days.