Krishna, Qureshi telephonic talk deferred
By IANSFriday, May 7, 2010
NEW DELHI - A telephonic conversation between Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart slated for Friday has been deferred as Shah Mehmood Qureshi is busy with other engagements, sources said.
Krishna told the Rajya Sabha Thursday that he will be talking to “his counterpart in Pakistan tomorrow (Friday)”.
“It was agreed between us that once parliament is adjourned, we would be in touch with each other,” he said.
During their telephonic conversation, Krishna was expected to invite Qureshi to India for talks, sources said.
The call is now likely to take place next week, sources added.
During their meeting in Thimphu last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani had mandated their foreign ministers and foreign secretaries to meet and work out the modalities for restoring trust between the two countries.
Krishna’s announcement in parliament about his intention to call Qureshi came amid speculation that Pakistan had proposed talks between the foreign ministers by the end of the month.
In a recent interview to CNN-IBN, Qureshi had said he would contact Krishna this month to suggest two sets of dates for a meeting to work out modalities for the resumption of dialogue.
“My intention is to invite (Krishna) to Pakistan. We can sit together and take up things according to the responsibility entrusted to us by the two prime ministers and move forward,” Qureshi said.
But he said if Krishna was unable to visit Pakistan for any reason, he would be willing to travel to India in the “spirit of engagement and (to) take things forward”.
