The United States has been supportive of meetings between the Pakistani and Indian leaders and continues to encourage the two South Asian nations to find ways to improve their bilateral dialogue, the State Department said.
"I am not aware that we are going to try to bring together Pakistani and Indian officials here in Washington, but we continue to encourage both sides to find ways to improve their bilateral dialogue and we will continue to encourage them," P J Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs said.
His remarks came as Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh met here informally on the occasion of Nuclear Security Summit. The foreign secretaries of the two nuclear neighbours met in New Delhi in March, bringing to an end the hiatus in high-level bilateral contacts that broke down following November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
At the daily briefing on Monday, the State Department spokesman cited Washington's encouragement of the past meetings between the Pakistani and Indian leaders, indicating the US desire for resumption of South Asian peace process.
"I think we certainly have encouraged previous meetings that have taken place between Indian officials and Pakistani officials. We think that's vitally important," Crowley remarked. The Pakistani and Indian leaders also met informally on Tuesday, the second day of the summit, hosted by President Barack Obama.