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Vajpayee meets Tony Blair at Chequers

V Mohan Narayan in London

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Saturday held talks with his British counterpart Tony Blair, focusing on the post-poll developments in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan, terrorism and the Iraq crisis.

The meeting at Chequers, the weekend retreat of the British premier, about 50 kilometres from London, took place within hours of Blair's return from Moscow after his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ahead of the meeting, a spokesman of the British prime minister's office said a wide range of international, bilateral and regional issues would figure in the talks between Blair and Vajpayee.

Britain is attaching considerable significance to Vajpayee's visit with the two sides sharing concerns on terrorism and charting out a new course for enhanced bilateral cooperation in diversified areas.

While the emphasis from the British side is expected to be on nudging India and Pakistan to resume dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue, Blair is also likely to do the balancing act by commending India for holding free and fair elections in the state, despite terrorist violence.

Britain has maintained that successful conclusion of the Kashmir election would signal the first step in ushering in peace in South Asia.

Vajpayee has maintained that cross-border terrorism continuing from the Pakistani side and dialogue cannot go together.

Though there is no structured agenda for the dialogue, the entire range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual concern are expected to figure in the talks.

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