Pakistan welcomed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's remarks that he would be glad if his Pakistani counterpart, Zafarullah Khan Jamali, meets him during the January SAARC summit in Islamabad and said the two countries should start talks soon.

"It is a good news and talks between two countries should start," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told Voice of America radio while responding to a question on Vajpayee's comments on Thursday in Lucknow.

Vajpayee had said that a "one-to-one meeting aur ekkathe mein koi farak nahin hain. Mein vahan ja raha hoon. Agar woh milenge tho badi khushi hogi (There is no difference between one-to-one meeting or meeting collectively. I am going there. If he (Jamali) meets, then I will be very glad."

Khan said the two countries "should resolve their issues through bilateral talks, especially the core issue of Kashmir. It is the only way for the establishment of peace in the region."

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