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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, June 03, 2002

Musharraf Suggests Russian Mediation

With India's prime minister unwilling to meet with Pakistan's president at a summit in Kazakhstan this week, the Pakistani leader held out the possibility Sunday that Russia could serve as a mediator in the crisis over disputed Kashmir.


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With India's prime minister unwilling to meet with Pakistan's president at a summit in Kazakhstan this week, the Pakistani leader held out the possibility Sunday that Russia could serve as a mediator in the crisis over disputed Kashmir.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said there was "no plan" to meet Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of a regional summit in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The summit, which both leaders are attending, begins Monday.

India has ruled out such a meeting until it is convinced Musharraf has fulfilled his promise to stop Pakistan-based militants from crossing into the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.

With the two sides at an impasse, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will also attend the Almaty meeting, has offered to mediate the crisis, which threatens to escalate into nuclear war.

During a stopover Sunday in Tajikistan en route to the summit, Musharraf expressed optimism that Russia, a traditional ally of India, could help presumably by shuttling between the two sides.

"I think that President Putin can persuade India to join a dialogue," Musharraf told reporters. "Pakistan will not start a war. We support solving the conflict through peaceful means."

Musharraf said he would "meet anywhere and at any level" and wanted one-on-one talks with Vajpayee. But "if he doesn't want to, I will not insist," Musharraf said.




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