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Indian, Pakistani leaders meet in Russia

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-16 19:42

YEKATERINBURG - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a bilateral meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, first of this kind since the devastating attacks in Mumbai last November.

"I am glad to meet with you, but my mandate is to declare that Pakistan's territory must not be used by terrorists," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Singh as saying when shaking hands with Zardari.

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The leaders arrived here to attend the ninth annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) followed by the first summit of

BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

When asked to comment on Singh's statement, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said: "I look at this from a different angle. I deem positive the fact that the two leaders are meeting in the corridors of the summit for the first time since the tragic Mumbai incident occurred."

The top diplomat also declined to specify when talks could be resumed between Delhi and Islamabad, saying "I cannot run too fast," as quoted by the Interfax news agency.

"The leaders are to decide on this on their own. However, joint work is the only reasonable way to act," he added.

Over 170 people, including foreign nationals, were killed and hundreds injured in the Mumbai terror attacks on November 26 last year.

India has been calling on Pakistan to take action against those responsible for carrying out the terrorist attacks, and has refused to resume dialogue with Pakistan until Islamabad brings the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks to justice.