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Sartaj Aziz accepts Indian date for talks

Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz today said he would travel to New Delhi this weekend "to try to defuse tensions over Kashmir".

In an interview, Aziz said, "We have accepted the date given by India... Basically our aim is to try to de-escalate and defuse the situation."

India had offered Saturday, June 12, as a date for bilateral talks in response to an earlier offer by Pakistan to open negotiations on Monday, June 7, to de-escalate the situation along the Line of Control.

Earlier today, Islamabad balked at the Indian suggestion that the agenda for the talks should be restricted to Pakistan's role in the Kargil conflict.

Aziz later said, "That is their assessment. We have our assessment of what has caused the escalation and what we have to come up with is some kind of consensus on the ground situation."

He said he would leave for New Delhi on Saturday morning.

AP

The Kargil Crisis

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