UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated his offer of "good offices" to facilitate the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan that appears to have again hit a brick wall.
Asked at his briefing on Friday about the stalled talks, Ban's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: "Secretary-General's offer of good offices stands as a matter of principle." But he added: "That has to be agreed on and asked for by both parties."
India considers disputes with Pakistan a bilateral matter as agreed upon in the 1972 Simla agreement and opposes any outside involvement.
In the latest chapter of the on-again-off-again diplomacy, Pakistan's High Commissioner in India, Abdul Basit, said in New Delhi on Thursday that "at present the peace process is suspended. India is not ready as yet".