Manmohan-Nawas meeting a positive step, says US

Washington: The meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York is a positive step forward and would improve their bilateral ties, US said on Tuesday.
However, the Obama Administration, which has been encouraging the two countries to resume their peace process, refrained from making any public evaluation of the results of the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.
Manmohan Singh had met his Pakistani counterpart Sharif over the weekend in a closely-watched hour-long meeting during which he raised the issue of terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil and asked Islamabad to do more to curb cross—border terrorism. When asked to comment on the outcome of the Singh-Sharif meeting, she said, “Well, it’s not for us to evaluate, but dialogue is a positive step forward and we’ll continue to encourage that.”
Responding to a question on Kashmir, in particular the UN Security Council resolution in this regard, which is being still being insisted upon by Pakistan despite that the Shimla Agreement calls for bilateral resolution of the dispute, the State Department official said there has been no change in its position on this issue.
“Our position on Kashmir has not changed. We still believe the pace, scope, and character of India and Pakistan’s dialogue on Kashmir is for those two countries to determine, and we continue to encourage dialogue,” Psaki said.