By Arun Kumar

Washington, Jul 16 (IANS): The India-Pakistan peace talks in Islamabad ended without making much headway, but the US welcomed the dialogue to address and resolve "issues of interest to them and of consequence in the region".

"We certainly welcome this high-level meeting," State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley told reporters Thursday, referring to the talks between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi. However, he did not have a readout in terms of any specific things that have been accomplished.

"I think - I heard that the meeting went on longer than had been anticipated," he said. "It is expressly the kind of dialogue that we think will help to address and resolve issues of interest between the two countries and of consequence in the region as a whole."

"So we welcome this - the increase in and level of dialogue between the two countries," he said.

Asked if the issue would come up for discussion when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets Krishna in Vietnam next week, Crowley said: "Our discussions with Indian officials are broad. I'm sure when they see each other they'll talk about bilateral and regional issues."