By IANS,
New Delhi : Treading cautiously on the US-Pakistan rift, India Thursday said it “sincerely” hopes the “two friendly powers” will be able to resolve their differences across the table and stressed this was important for regional stability.
“This concerns the relationship between two friendly powers – the US and Pakistan – and it is India’s desire that all outstanding issues between the two countries should be settled across the table and thereby create a situation in the region which will be conducive for the development,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters here.
He was responding to a question on plummeting ties between Islamabad and Washington and its impact on the situation in Afghanistan.
“Because anything which upsets the region will have devastating consequences on the developmental agenda of other countries and more particularly India. So, we sincerely hope that they will be able to solve their differences,” Krishna said.
The situation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region figured prominently in talks between Krishna and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe.
Voicing concern over the situation in Pakistan, Juppe said France was trying to develop a dialogue with Pakistan, which was important for achieving a solution in Afghanistan. “We are worried about the situation in Pakistan. We are aware of the difficulties faced by this country at political, economic and security levels,” he said.
“We think it is absolutely necessary to develop a dialogue with Pakistan because this country has a positive role to play in finding solution to Afghanistan,” he said.
In the same breath, he lauded the role of India in Afghanistan and stressed that Paris will be in tocuh with New Delhi. “We have also discussed these points with India,” he said, adding France has proposed that a collective security mechanism should be conceived through this dialogue.
Reaffirming their solidarity with Afghanistan, the two countries “welcomed the will of the international community to remain committed after the 2014 transition, through bilateral and multilateral fora,” said a joint statement.
“Looking ahead to the Istanbul Conference of November 2, they welcomed the commitment of the region to work for a stable, peaceful, democratic and independent Afghanistan, achieved through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process,” the statement added.
India and France also reiterated their resolve to deepen counter-terror cooperation. “The two sides agreed to further expand information exchange and enhance counter-terrorism cooperation in areas of mutual concern,” the joint statement said.
They also resolved to continue their efforts for early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN.