BRUSSELS, Jan 9: The European Union is ready to help Pakistan and India achieve their common objectives of peace, security and economic development for their peoples and region.

This was said by the EU's chief diplomat Javier Solana in a statement the other day. He welcomed the resumption of political talks between Pakistan and India as a key step towards peace in South Asia.

Diplomats said Mr Solana spoke on telephone with Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and his Indian counterpart Yashwant Sinha to congratulate them on the resumption of talks.

"In my personal message today to Ministers Sinha and Kasuri, I expressed satisfaction for the recent positive developments in the bilateral relations between Pakistan and India and for the resumption of political dialogue between the two countries," he said in the statement.

The EU diplomat underlined that the joint statement made by President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee following the 12th Saarc summit constituted an important step towards the resolution of bilateral issues between the two countries.