NEW DELHI, June 5 (UPI) -- India will not accept third-party mediation in resolving the 56-year old Kashmir dispute with Pakistan.
Natwar Singh, India's foreign minister, told the India Today magazine Saturday that India wants to resolve all its disputes with Pakistan through direct talks and will not accept outside mediation.
"We want bilateral talks on all issues, including Kashmir and nuclear proliferation," he said.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, since their independence from Britain in 1947.
Pakistan has asked the United States and other world powers to help negotiate Kashmir and other disputes with India.
India, however, is opposed to outside help in resolving its disputes with Pakistan.
The new Indian government that assumed power earlier this month has agreed to continue the peace process started by the previous government but like its predecessors wants direct talks between India and Pakistan without any outside "interference."
