India denied today its summit with Pakistan was a failure and said peace efforts were on track despite no agreement on future dialogue.
"I don't characterise [the summit] as a failure. I term it as yet another step in the march towards finding lasting peace," Foreign Minister Mr Jaswant Singh told reporters. "To suggest everything is collapsed. No. That is not true," he said.
He also said an invitation accepted by Indian Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee to visit Pakistan remained "in position".
Pakistani President Mr Pervez Musharraf left the Taj Mahal town of Agra shortly after midnight, after efforts to draft a joint declaration on the summit talks were frustrated by disagreement over Kashmir.
"This is not the end of the exercise," Mr Singh said. "The caravan of peace will continue on its march and I have no doubt, on some auspicious day, will reach its destination."
Mr Singh said Mr Vajpayee had instigated the summit with Mr Musharraf with the aim of moving along the "high road to peace".
"Our commitment to that noble objective . . . is not transitory," Mr Singh said, while voicing disappointment the summit ended without a deal.
The summit was the first between the nuclear-capable South Asian powers for more than two years.
AFP