US President George W. Bush had separate telephone talks with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts on Wednesday, and the three sides agreed to take measures to decrease tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad, the White House said.
President Bush "called Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh of India and separately President (Asif Ali) Zardari of Pakistan. President Bush urged both ... to cooperate with each other in the Mumbai attack investigation as well as on counterterrorism in general," US National Security Council Spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters in Crawford, Texas where President Bush is spending his New Year holidays.
"All three leaders from the United States, India and Pakistan agreed that no one wanted to take any steps that unnecessarily raise tensions," Johndroe noted.
Pakistan-India tensions were heightened as the Indian side accused Pakistan-based militant groups of involvement in last month's Mumbai terror attacks, which killed more than 170 people.
Pakistan moved around 20,000 troops from its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to its eastern border with India amid tensions after the Mumbai attacks.