Kathmandu: India on August 13 welcomed the agreement between Nepalese government and Maoists to start next round of peace talks and asked the rebels to dissociate from terror outfits in India and abandon the path of violence.

"We welcome the announcement of the third round of talks between the government and the Maoists on August 17 and we hope the talks would achieve a success," India's Ambassador to Nepal, Shyam Saran told reporters.

Speaking on the eve of the India's Independence Day, Saran asked Maoists to dissociate themselves from the terrorist outfits operating in India. "In order to change our attitude towards them, these linkages must end," he said.

"If the Maoist movement claims that it is committed to multi-party democracy, then they must understand that multi-party democracy cannot go together with reliance to violence as a political weapon," he added.

Electoral exercise must be the ultimate solution to the present political problem, he said. "For that, an election should take place in a free and fair manner, not under the shadow of the gun," he added.

Ruling out a third party mediation to resolve the crisis, Saran stressed the need for involving major political parties in Nepal in the dialogue process.

"Peace process cannot succeed without the crucial participation of the political parties of Nepal, as they have to play a key role in the political life of Nepal," he said.

Saran also pointed out the need to frame a "strong legal basis" to curb terrorist and illegal activities along the Indo-Nepal border.

PTI