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Avert war, Koizumi tells PM

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE MAY 29. The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, today urged his Indian counterpart, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to avert a war with Pakistan "by all means'' and exercise restraint.

During a 20-minute telephone conversation, Mr. Vajpayee is said to have described the situation in South Asia as extreme and almost approaching a war. He said he did not want a war and would closely watch Pakistan's actions.

``But I asked (Mr. Vajpayee) to avert a war by all means because such an effort will be important, not only to the Indian and Pakistani people, but also to those in the international community,'' Mr. Koizumi told reporters in Tokyo about his conversation.

On Thursday, Mr. Koizumi spoke to the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, after sending an envoy to Pakistan asking for prevention of terrorist activities.

``I asked Prime Minister, Vajpayee, to settle the problem peacefully through dialogue and to exercise self-restraint and leadership, despite differences between the two sides,'' the Kyodo news agency quoted Mr. Koizumi as saying.

He offered his condolences over a series of terrorist attacks faced by India. Mr. Koizumi told Mr. Vajpayee that acts of terrorism could not be justified and hoped that Mr. Vajpayee's diplomatic efforts would avert a war.

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