Putin to Mediate South Asia Dispute

June 3 -- India's leader says his nation was ready to re-open dialog with Pakistan — but only if that nation stops cross-border raids into Indian-held territory in Kashmir.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf are attending an Asian security summit in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this week, but despite intense diplomatic pressure from Moscow, the chance of a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders is slim.

Although Indian and Pakistani officials have been holding talks with Russian diplomats in Almaty, Vajpayee has refused to meet with Musharraf. India maintains there will be no talks until what it calls cross-border terrorist attacks by Pakistan-based Islamic militants stop.

The Indian and Pakistani leaders are expected to be in the same room on Tuesday during a session at the 16-nation Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Almaty. Many analysts regard the summit as the best possible chance of starting a peace process between the two nuclear rivals.

Putin is expected to hold separate meetings with Musharraf and Vajpayee before Tuesday's session.

Speaking to reporters in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, today, Musharraf said he was willing to hold "unconditional" talks with the Indian leader "anywhere and at any level." But India maintains that Musharraf has not lived up to his earlier promises to halt "cross-border terrorism" and trust runs low on both sides.

Speaking to reporters in Almaty today, a senior Indian official played down hopes of a likely meeting between the two leaders. "We don't need to come all the way here to have a meeting," said Omar Abdullah, the deputy Indianforeign minister. "We could meet in our country or his [Musharraf's], if thecircumstances were right."

But Pakistani officials believe Russia, a key Indian ally and one of India's major arms supplier, is in a good position to persuade New Delhi to begin talks on the contentious Kashmir issue.

India Plays Down Fears of Nuclear War