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CNN Live At Daybreak

Neighbors of India and Pakistan Trying to Get Rivals to Talk

Aired June 04, 2002 - 05:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Neighbors of India and Pakistan are trying to get the rivals to sit down and talk before their stand-off over Kashmir ignites into a full-blown war.

The major players are at a regional summit in Kazakhstan and so is our Matthew Chance.

Hello, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Carol.

And those efforts that you mentioned, the intensive international diplomatic efforts to try and bring the Indian and Pakistani leaders together have not yielded a great deal of results here in Almaty, unfortunately. There has been a face to face encounter between the Indian and Pakistani leaders at the plenary session of this summit of regional nations meant to be about confidence building and interaction.

It had been hoped that this would be an opportunity for India and Pakistan to get together, to try and at least begin a process of easing the tensions between the two nuclear neighbors over Kashmir. Instead, the two leaders merely traded accusations and condemnation of each other's behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: We do not want war. We will not initiate war. But if war is imposed on us, we will defend ourselves with the utmost resolution and determination. We have stated repeatedly that instead of accusations, threats and dangerous escalation, we need to return to the path of dialogue and negotiations.

PRIME MINISTER ATAL BEHARI VAJPAYEE, INDIA: As far as an India- Pakistan dialogue is concerned, it is India which has always taken the initiative for it. In the space of the last four years, I have been to Lahore and invited President Musharraf to Bagram. We have repeatedly said that we are willing to discuss all issues with Pakistan, including Jamu (ph) and Kashmir. But for that, cross border terrorism has to end.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHANCE: Those public statements, Carol, not giving much hope to people who had been hoping that this would be a window of opportunity for the two leaders to have one-on-one discussions with each other about easing the tensions between the two nuclear neighbors. That despite the very intensive diplomatic efforts of countries like China. President Jiang Zemin has been here interacting, meeting with both the leaders of India and Pakistan, as has President Putin of Russia, who has made this something of a personal mission. Remember, he was the world leader who initially invited the leaders of India and Pakistan here to meet here in Almaty in the first place.

So in that sense at the moment it does appear like it has been a failure of diplomacy -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, American officials are on the way. Is there anything anyone can do to get these two men to sit down and talk face to face?

CHANCE: It's very difficult right now. Pakistan, for its part, of course, says that it is perfectly willing to sit down and talk with anybody who wants to discuss the Kashmir dispute. Indeed, this has been a matter of policy for successive Pakistan governments to try and internationalize the dispute with India and get other parties involved.

India, for its part, has historically resisted any third party intervention, any mediation by other parties. And so, for instance, what the Indian delegation tell us privately when they spoke to President Putin of Russia is they said literally to him, you know, thanks for the offer, but no thanks. And it's expected that although the United States may get some better treatment when their officials and Donald Rumsfeld and Richard Armitage arrive in Delhi later on, they may get some better treatment than that, the message from India is likely to be, in general terms, the same.

COSTELLO: All right, Matthew Chance reporting live for us.

Thank you very much.

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