London, May 06: US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage kicked off his South Asia tour with a one-to-one meeting with national Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra here today, during which they discussed the fresh Indo-Pak peace moves. Armitage flew in here from Washington to hold talks with Mishra, who is heading on a visit to the US for talks with administration officials including his counterpart Condoleeza Rice. No aides were present at the meeting between Mishra and Armitage in which Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's latest peace initiatives and the Pakistani response figured.

As Armitage embarked on his visit to Pakistan and India, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said, "This is a moment of opportunity where both sides seem to be reaching out."

Powell told reporters in Washington that Armitage would "encourage this process of reaching out and the US will be ready to assist both sides as they move forward." Bureau Report