Set to meet Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the NAM Summit tomorrow morning, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to play down expectations.

He said it was too early to say if there would be a joint statement, but did not rule out the possibility either. Pressed for details, he said the meeting was on the sidelines of a summit, and therefore it was “not possible to discuss all problems on earth.”

Singh refused to be drawn into responding to Musharraf’s comments in Brussels that Pakistan was not going to make any concessions on Kashmir and wanted India to take the initiative.

He said: “I don’t want to indulge in any public discussion with Musharraf, and I look forward to discussing serious business with him in the limited time we have.”

Singh is believed to be of the view that any substantive moves or proposals are likely only if and when he visits Pakistan and not at any venue such as this.

Musharraf arrived shortly before the Prime Minister’s plane touched down at Jose Marti International Airport.

The talks will be the first to be held after relations between the two countries went cold following the bomb blasts in Mumbai that killed 187 people. Indian officials say that to look for breakthroughs on foreign soil in a meeting like this would be expecting too much and that even if the structured dialogue process is revived, it should be taken as a positive outcome. Singh last met Musharraf in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA last year.

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