Indian, Pakistani leaders hint at a thaw in Russia

The leaders of India and Pakistan met on the sidelines of a summit in Russia on Tuesday, raising hopes that the two nuclear-armed nations may be prepared to improve their strained relations.

But it was evident that last year’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai remain a big obstacle.

“My mandate is to tell you that Pakistani territory should not be used for terrorism against India,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said as cameras flashed and he shook hands with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Indian and Russian news agencies reported.

It was their first meeting since the three-day siege in Mumbai, India’s financial center, killed 166 people in November.

India has accused a Pakistan-based militant group of sending the teams of gunmen that rampaged through Mumbai, and Pakistani officials have acknowledged the attacks were partly plotted on their soil.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi downplayed Singh’s reported remark and said the meeting itself was a good development, the reports said.

“I think the very fact that the two leaders are meeting at this summit for the first time since the tragic incident in Mumbai is positive,” Russia’s state-run RIA-Novosti and ITAR-Tass agencies quoted Qureshi as saying in Yekaterinburg.

The leaders of the South Asian nations met briefly after the photo-op in the Ural Mountains city, Russian officials said on condition of anonymity.