RAO 2LST

On Qureshi's remarks about Indian delegations and
talks made Friday, Rao said it came "somewhat as a surprise".
Asked whether dialogue process will be hampered due to
political pressure here, the Foreign Secretary said she was
definitely of the view that the dialogue process must go on.
"By no means would I define yesterday's meeting as
having ended in any collapse or any conclusion that would
suggest that there is nothing to look forward," she said.
"There was a hiatus in expectations," she said noting
that Pakistan had certain ideas of re-engagement that were not
acceptable to India.
Rao said it was essential for both the countries to be
"very dispassionate about the exercise itself because there
was no real dialogue since the Mumbai attacks.
"We have just begun and it is really very essential
that we must understand that this is not going to be easy
There are many obstacles along the course," she said.
During the talks, she said, India did talk of the
specifics.
"We had a very clear set of do-ables that we thought
we might discuss with the Pakistanis and reach an agreement,"
she said.
She said on certain issues, the two sides were in
agreement and went on to add that the two sides had a
"serious" discussion and "it was by no means a futile
exercise".
India, she said, has "very real core concerns" on
terrorism. She said disclosures of ISI's involvement was
nothing new to India.
Rao said the tone and tenor of certain statements
made by Qureshi had not contributed in creating a conducive
atmoshpere and could have been avoided.
The Indian side, she said, had hoped for a "more
positive outcome".PTI