This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/6082932.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Peace with Pakistan 'desirable' | Peace with Pakistan 'desirable' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
India's newly appointed foreign minister has said it is desirable that India and Pakistan live in peace. | India's newly appointed foreign minister has said it is desirable that India and Pakistan live in peace. |
Pranab Mukherjee, a veteran politician who moved from his post of defence minister on Tuesday, said peace was essential for economic growth. | Pranab Mukherjee, a veteran politician who moved from his post of defence minister on Tuesday, said peace was essential for economic growth. |
He added that India would share "certain" evidence with Islamabad of Pakistani involvement in the July train bombings in Mumbai. | He added that India would share "certain" evidence with Islamabad of Pakistani involvement in the July train bombings in Mumbai. |
Next month, the two countries are to resume stalled peace talks. | Next month, the two countries are to resume stalled peace talks. |
'Critical time' | |
"As we believe that we cannot alter our neighbour, it is desirable to live with our neighbours in peace and to create a tension-free situation on our borders amongst our neighbours in the region," Mr Mukherjee told reporters on his first day in his new job. | |
The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says that Mr Mukherjee is taking charge at a critical time for Indian diplomacy. | The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says that Mr Mukherjee is taking charge at a critical time for Indian diplomacy. |
Next month, India and Pakistan resume peace talks which have been stalled since the Mumbai bombings that left nearly 200 people dead. | Next month, India and Pakistan resume peace talks which have been stalled since the Mumbai bombings that left nearly 200 people dead. |
India has blamed militants based in Pakistan for the attacks, leading to an exchange of angry rhetoric between the two neighbours. | India has blamed militants based in Pakistan for the attacks, leading to an exchange of angry rhetoric between the two neighbours. |
Pakistan was swift to condemn the bombings and has repeatedly called on India to back its claims with proof, something which Delhi has yet to do. | |
Mr Mukherjee, 70, took over his new portfolio from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had been acting as foreign minister for nearly a year. | |
The post fell vacant last November when the previous incumbent, Natwar Singh, resigned after a UN inquiry named him in the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. | |
Mr Mukherjee is a prominent Gandhi family loyalist who did not win a popular election until 2004. | |
Among the many challenges he faces will Mr be steering India's growing relations with the United States at a time when a controversial nuclear deal between the two countries is stuck in the US Senate. |