New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S M
Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi are
expected to hold telephonic talk on Tuesday to discuss ways to
reduce trust deficit in pursuance to the decision reached
between prime ministers of the two countries in Thimphu.
Krishna had told Rajya Sabha last Thursday that he
would talk to Qureshi the next day but sources said it could
not happen due to scheduling mismatch.
The telephonic talk is now expected tomorrow, the sources
said.
The two foreign ministers are expected to discuss when and
where they could meet. They are also likely to discuss about
the next meeting of the foreign secretaries.
When asked when the telephonic talk could take place,
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash today said
the two sides are trying to identify a "mutually convenient"
time slot for the telephonic conversation.
He noted that in Thimphu, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani had asked
their external affairs ministers and foreign secretaries to
meet as soon as possible.
"So you know that the framework is already there. The only
thing is to decide to identify the mutually convenient time
slot to have the conversation and both the countries are in
touch with each other to identify that slot," Prakash told
reporters here.
Singh and Gilani, who met on the sidelines of SAARC
Summit, had asked the foreign ministers and foreign
secretaries to discuss ways to reduce "trust deficit".
On Thursday, Krishna had said India had decided to have a
dialogue as there has been a "transformation" in ties with
assurance coming at the level of Pakistan Prime Minister that
India`s "core concern" with regard to terrorism would be
addressed adequately.
PTI
