Guwahati, Dec 05: Defence Minister George Fernandes said today that the positive direction taken by India's efforts at improving its relations with Pakistan should continue and asserted that tension between the two neighbours can be eased only through a joint effort. "Talk is the best way to settle disputes and not the battlefield. The positive direction that our efforts at improving Indo-Pak relations has taken should continue without deteriorating, but only improve further," Fernandes said.
"It is a joint effort by both sides to ease tension between the two countries," he said addressing defence personnel at the Narengi Army Base here.
Fernandes said India was making efforts for the fourth time to hold talks with Pakistan.
"Pakistan was earlier not amenable to India's conditions for talks, but they have slowly come around and Prime Minister A B Vajpayee will be going to the Saarc summit in Islamabad where he will meet President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali," he said.
"Pakistan offered ceasefire upto the Line of Control, but when we wanted it up to Siachen they promptly agreed. They also agreed to our demand for halt to cross-border terrorism," Fernandes said.
Talks were also on with Beijing to improve bilateral ties, Fernandes said, recalling that he and the Prime Minister had visited China and held serious discussions with the leaders there.
"We agreed to solve our border problem and China agreed to settle the Sikkim issue by correcting its map," he said. Bureau Report