VERONICA PEDROSA, CNN ANCHOR: India is expected to announce within days the date and venue of its summit with Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute. But as Kasra Naji reports, comments today by India's Prime Minister suggest the talks may be in trouble even before they begin.</s>KASRA NAJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee speaking to the press just before being discharged from the hospital in Bombay, where he has been recovering from a knee- replacement surgery. Taking questions, Mr. Vajpayee also took the opportunity here to allay fears that the fourth coming Indian-Pakistan summit will lead to territorial concessions in the disputed region of Kashmir. Kashmir is an integral part of India, and their is no question of compromise on that, he said. It is not something the Pakistanis want to hear ahead of the summit. Their foreign minister has been to Washington, where he has pleading for the lifting of U.S. sanctions against Pakistan.</s>ABDUL SATTAR, PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTER: Our hope is that an administration that attaches importance, value to 50 years of friendship and to cooperation that we have had over the decades will be equitable in the decision not to maintain these sanctions which in my view have long ago become counterproductive.</s>NAJI: It is seems an end to the military rule in Pakistan is a prerequisite to lifting of the U.S. sanctions.</s>ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The administration is committed to building a mutually beneficial, bilateral relationship with Pakistan. The administration is looking forward to a return to a democracy that will permit fully normalized relations, and the United States fully supports the upcoming July 14th meeting between India and Pakistan.</s>NAJI: Mr. Vajpayee didn't confirm the date of 14th of July for the summit, although he said the date will be fixed in the next day or two. Kasra Naji, CNN, New Delhi.
India-Pakistan Summit May be in Trouble Before it Even Begins