India on Tuesday did not appear to share Pakistan's view that a resolution to the Siachen issue was a "matter of days" as it said the talks on the subject are going on.
"Our position has been stated earlier," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in New Delhi responding to a claim by Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri on Monday about the possibility of a settlement on Siachen in the near future.
Mukherjee said the two countries are having "several rounds of talks on Siachen" and "it is not necessary for me on
every occasion to respond to observations made by some foreign dignitary."
New Delhi has made it clear that the vexed issue can be settled promptly if Islamabad agrees to its terms, particularly proper authentication of present troop positions of the two countries at the world's highest battlefield.
There are no indications yet regarding Pakistan's acceptance of the terms, external affairs ministry sources said.
India wants "iron-clad" authentication of the troop positions as it is wary of a repeat of Kargil when Pakistani forces occupied the mountain heights in 1999.
Kasuri said on Monday that "given the political will, we have narrowed down our differences enough for us to have a decision within a matter of days, not even weeks."
The two countries had agreed to demilitarise Siachen, but have failed to reach a common position on how to do it.
