Clinton Statement on Kashmir Conflict

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT: Announcements by India and Pakistan Aimed
at Reducing Tensions in Kashmir

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

December 20, 2000

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I welcome today's announcements by both India and Pakistan aimed at
reducing tensions in Kashmir. The decision by Prime Minister Vajpayee
that India will continue the ceasefire it initiated last month in
Kashmir is an important step forward. In the meetings we held earlier
this year, the Prime Minister told me of his determination to pursue a
course of peace in Kashmir. I applaud today's announcement as a sign
of his continuing commitment to that course. This initiative, along
with Pakistan's announcement today that it will withdraw part of its
forces deployed along the Line of Control and its earlier decision to
exercise maximum restraint there, raises the hopes of the world
community that peace is possible in Kashmir. To achieve that end, I
continue to believe that all parties should reject violence and work
for a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue.