Manmohan Singh tones down hopes for Nawaz talks

Refers to Lahore Accord of 1999 as a road map for resolving differences through negotiations.

NEW YORK: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday that he looked forward to meeting his Pakistani counterpart in New York, but expectations from the talks had to be toned down in light of recent terror attacks, NDTV reported him as saying.

Singh and Sharif are expected to hold a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sunday, as they reach for better relations despite heightened cross border tensions.

"I look forward to the meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif even though the expectations have to be toned down," Singh told reporters in the Oval Office after he met US President Barack Obama.

Singh told Obama that India was facing difficulties due to terror and that the "epicenter of terrorist activity remains focused in Pakistan."

Deadly skirmishes across the de facto border in divided Kashmir had put the meeting in New York under a cloud, which would come months after peace talks again stalled between the two neighbors.

Nawaz Sharif upbeat for 'new beginning'

On the other hand, the Pakistani Prime Minister said he believed the two countries had a 'solid basis' for a 'new beginning' of mutual friendship.

“We stand ready to re-engage with India in a substantive and purposeful dialogue,” said Sharif, before adding:

“I am looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here in New York to make a new beginning. We have a solid basis to do that."