NEW DELHI, Jan 16: A global jamboree to mark the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg could be the setting for an India- Pakistan rapprochement where the heads of the two countries may join world leaders, including the Chinese and American presidents, at the celebrations, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
They said Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is almost certain to visit Moscow in May, leaning on a bilateral component, while an invitation from President Vladimir Putin also exists for a pending rare visit by President Pervez Musharraf.
Diplomats said it was highly unlikely that the two leaders would ignore the prospects of the limelight when other important subjects, including the thick of the Iraq crisis, would be competing for global attention.
President Musharraf is widely believed to be due to visit Moscow next month for a meeting with Putin, but Pakistan officials in New Delhi revealed that the dates for this visit were in fact not yet confirmed.
“What is known is that there is a visit due by the President of Pakistan to Russia, but we do not have the dates,” one official said.
He did not rule out that such a visit or a variant could take place in May, nor that even the Pakistan prime minister could attend the St Petersburg celebrations.
Putin had played a key role in defusing the crisis between India and Pakistan in June last year when he met the leaders of both countries during a regional summit in Kazakhstan.
What was known on Thursday was that Putin has invited Vajpayee to attend St Petersburg’s in May and the Indian Prime Minister had accepted.
Press Trust of India said also that US President George W. Bush and new Chinese President Hu Jintao, besides several other world leaders, were expected to join the celebrations at Putin’s hometown.
The news agency said a summit meeting between Vajpayee and Putin could precede the St Petersburg celebrations and the dates are being finalised.
India has been refusing to hold talks with Pakistan over its claims that Islamabad foments anti-India violence in Kashmir. Both countries have been engaged in worrying nuclear brinkmanship and equally threatening rhetoric, analysts say.
Indian news reports said the authorities had postponed yet another test of India’s short-range Prithvi missile on Thursday for some date after January 20.
Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, who recently visited Pakistan, is expected to be in New Delhi for the January 26 Republic Day military parade. Any missile test before that would be seen in that context.
