August 9, 2002	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 29,1423

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COLOMBO, Aug 8: Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando on Thursday briefed his Indian counterpart Yaswant Sinha on his latest visit to Pakistan, the foreign ministry here said.

The two men spoke “at length on issues relating to regional peace and stability,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Minister Fernando briefed Mr Sinha about his recent visit to Islamabad,” the ministry said without elaborating.

Three weeks ago, Fernando told reporters in Islamabad he had conveyed India’s concerns over the disputed territory of Kashmir to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

“But I do not see a role for myself as a mediator between the two countries,” the minister said.

Fernando, who has offered himself as a candidate for United Nations secretary general when the job opens up again after 2006, said he believed the dispute between India and Pakistan was a “bilateral matter.”

“But as friends of both we would like to see a settlement between the two and peace in the region,” Fernando said.—AFP