On board Air India One: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said Islamabad has to create the right atmosphere for a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif as officials of the two sides were preparing ground for their possible engagement in New York later this month.
"I have always maintained that we can choose our friends. But we have no choice with regard to our neighbours," the prime minister told journalists on his way back from St. Petersburg, Russia after attending the G20 Summit of rich and economically influential nations.
"Under normal conditions, I will be happy to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom I respect, who has said the right things about how relations between our two countries should evolve," he said.
"But, there are certain harsh realities on the ground," the prime minister added to the question over the possibility of his meeting with the new Pakistan prime minister when both converge at the UN later this month.
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