WASHINGTON, Dec 9: The United States played a key role in encouraging India and Pakistan to talk to each other but did not apply any direct pressure on them to do so, official and diplomatic sources said on Monday.

Throughout the process, that led to the Indian announcement that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will attend the Saarc Summit in Islamabad, US Secretary of State Colin Powell remained personally engaged with both Indian and Pakistani officials, sources said.

Soon after India announced a new set of proposals last week, Mr Powell called Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha in Brussels and congratulated him on the move. The Indian response, however, was more cautious. Mr Sinha told the US secretary of state that he would wait for a formal response from Islamabad before making any comments.

Mr Powell then traced Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri in Spain the same day to say the United States welcomed the latest peace initiative. He said he hoped for a positive response and quick action. The message was clear — the United States expects Pakistan to move quickly.

A US official told reporters in Washington that the Bush administration has been watching the developments in the subcontinent very closely, “putting in a word of advise or a hope for peace whenever we felt it’s needed.”

“It wasn’t one thing that broke the impasse. It was a constant engagement,” said the official, adding that “the political decision” to go ahead and “give peace a chance” was that of “India and Pakistan, not the United States’.”

In Pakistan, the official said, it was President Pervez Musharraf, who decided it was about time to do something positive for improving relations with India.

Another US official said there was “no arm twisting” and that things just “reached a level of momentum.” He specifically denied there were any threats to turn off the aid tap to Pakistan.

But South Asian diplomatic sources in Washington say that the Bush administration did allow its Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who is known in the diplomatic circles as a “tough negotiator,” to use his skills to get the desired results.

Indians were told that it was only through bilateral talks that India could resolve its differences with Pakistan. Nothing else would work, the sources said.

Diplomatic sources in Washington say that while the United States is not asking for a change of status in Kashmir, it is urging both India and Pakistan to respect the sanctity of the Line of Control.