PM in Almaty, rules out talks with General

Vajpayee will be attending the first-ever 16-nation Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA), which is also being attended by Musharraf, on June 4.

‘‘I will be discussing with other leaders including President (Vladimir) Putin of Russia and President Jiang Zemin of China our views on cross-border terrorism which is creating the present tension in the region,’’ he said.

Putin is hoping to use the opportunity to prod India and Pakistan to step back from the brink of a conflict. The Russian President, who has offered to help in defusing crisis, would be meeting Vajpayee and Musharraf separately. Jiang, who will also participate in the summit, is expected to spell out his country’s views on escalation of Indo-Pak tensions at the summit as well as at bilateral meetings with Vajpayee and Musharraf.

With the world getting increasingly alarmed and a number of countries withdrawing their non-essential diplomatic staff and their family members from India and Pakistan fearing a war, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the Almaty summit would be able to deter the two countries from escalating their tensions.

Speaking in Kiev, capital of nearby Ukraine, Annan said he was confident Putin and Jiang would be able to dissuade Indian and Pakistani leaders from raising the level of dispute over Kashmir.

Ruling out talks with Musharraf in Almaty, Vajpayee said depending on the situation on the ground, India would ‘‘give it a serious consideration’’ and ‘‘take appropriate steps’’.