UNITED NATIONS, Dec 26: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged Pakistan and India to stop stoking tensions and instead try to resolve differences through dialogue.

In separate letters to President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Annan said the international community wanted improved and stable ties between the two nations, UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva said on Wednesday.

In the letters, which were sent on Monday, the UN leader called on both countries “to avoid escalating actions and further statements that could aggravate the situation between both countries”, the spokesman said.—Reuters