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Talks between the Indian government and the dominant faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland over the scope of a ceasefire in the northeast have failed to yield any positive results, official sources said on Monday.
"The government's interlocutor, K Padmanabhaiah, returned on Monday evening for further consultations and to receive directions from higher authorities," said a home ministry spokesman.
"The two parties had agreed to meet as often as possible to arrive at an amicable solution," the spokesman added.
The talks are being held in Amsterdam.
At issue are the words "without territorial limits" contained in an announcement on June 14 that the scope of a ceasefire with the Issac-Muivah faction of the NSCN was being extended to the entire northeast and not just Nagaland state.
This led to widespread protests throughout the northeast, where the move was viewed as the first step toward the creation of a Greater Nagaland by carving out territory from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, all of which have sizeable Naga populations.
Some 19 people died in protests in Manipur.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced on July 27 that the words "without territorial limits" were being dropped from the ceasefire agreement and that the truce would be limited to Nagaland.
The NCSN (IM) protested the turnaround by New Delhi, after which Padmanabhaiah was dispatched to Amsterdam on August 3 with a home ministry team for a fresh round of talks.
No new dates have been fixed for the next round of talks but "it will be soon," home ministry officials said.
Indo-Asian News Service
ALSO SEE: Indian envoys know nothing of Northeast: ex-rebel
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