The Hindu : Be patient when dealing with Pak.: Germany

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 05, 2003

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Be patient when dealing with Pak.: Germany

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI March. 4. The German President, Johannes Rau, said today that India should remain steadfast and patient when it came to dealing with Pakistan.

Dr. Rau, who was addressing a press conference, said he never made any public comments or gave advice on relations involving other countries. However, he did point to the fact that Europe was a divided continent till the end of the 1980s. Very few people believed at the time that this situation could change. But, he stressed, there was a united Germany and united Europe in place. The Indian side, he said, voiced its concerns and disappointment relating to Pakistan and referred to its attempts at bridge-building with Islamabad. On Iraq, Dr. Rau said his feeling was that both India and Germany felt that the activity of the U.N. weapons' inspectors would fulfil the goal of eliminating Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. "We need to do everything to avoid a military conflict," he added. Asked about his meeting with the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and her position on Iraq, Dr. Rau said she had assured him that there was a consensus-oriented approach on foreign affairs. Her position was in no way different from the opinion of the Government.

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