India has pledged to make "military gestures" and take diplomatic action to ease tensions with Pakistan, US Deputy Secretary of State Mr Richard Armitage said in Estonia today.
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A Pakistani soldier looks at the wreckage of a spy plane in Raja Jang. Photo: Reuters
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"When you have close to a million men glaring, shouting and occasionally shooting across a territory that's a matter of some dispute, then you couldn't say the crisis is over," he said. "But I think you can say the tensions are down measurably."
Mr Armitage was speaking to reporters as he arrived in the Estonian capital Tallinn to brief US Defense Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld on the peace mission he has just undertaken to India and Pakistan.
He said he expected India to take the military measures over the next couple of days before Mr Rumsfeld travels to Pakistan and then India next Wednesday and Thursday.
Mr Armitage said he did not know what form the military gestures by India would take. "But I got the very strong impression that they are inclined to respond to the international community, which has been calling for restraint," he said.
But there was little visible let-up in the stand-off today.
Pakistani forces shot down an unmanned Indian spy plane several kilometers across the line of control, artillery battles raged in Kashmir, and Indian police reported that rebels attacks killed four villagers and three soldiers.
Mr Rumsfeld plans to travel to both India and Pakistan next week after first visiting Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, but he has remained secretive about what he intends to discuss with their leaders.
After meeting with Mr Armitage, Mr Rumsfeld brushed off reporters' questions about the upbeat assessment or how he might follow up.
AFP