New Delhi, Apr 29: CPI(M) today welcomed the telephonic conversation between Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali saying even if any proposed talks fail to yield results the process should continue. "Progress can be made on smaller issues first while the talks on the contentious ones can be continued. Even if the talks do not bear fruit again, like in Lahore or Agra, they should be continued because a war between two nuclear powers can never solve any problem," party leader in Rajya Sabha Nilotpal Basu told reporters here.

Asked whether his party would support Vajpayee going to Pakistan at the invitation extended by Jamali, he said, "We leave it to the wisdom of the Prime Minister. It is upto him how he wants to deal with it". Demanding that the opposition should be taken into confidence on the issue, Basu said the CPI(M), which had welcomed Vajpayee's statement during his visit to Jammu and Kashmir, wanted that while peace efforts were being made in the state, a parallel effort should be made to improve India's relations with Pakistan.

Any bilateral parleys, which should begin at the lower levels and progress towards a summit, should first aim at sorting out the smaller issues, make progress in them and continue dialogue on the larger issues, he said. "There are differences on many issues. But instead of amplifying these differences, we should first recognise the areas where commonality of approach exists," Basu added.

Bureau Report