Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today (Jan 20, 2004) said his talks with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee "broke" the "vicious confrontationist cycle" between India and Pakistan, but warned relations between the two countries could "slide back" if they failed to make progress in resolving the Kashmir issue.

"The vicious confrontationist cycle was finally broken when I met Prime Minister Vajpayee in Islamabad. We have agreed to resume composite dialogue to address all issues including Jammu and Kashmir," Musharraf said in an address to Turkish Parliament in Ankara, which was telecast live by state-owned PTV in Islamabad.

"This is a historic moment for the people of Pakistan, India and Kashmir themselves," he said.

Musharraf said the ultimate objective of India and Pakistan was to steer the process to a sustained and result-oriented dialogue in order to resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmir.

"We want to usher in an era of peace and prosperity and work for collective economic development. With vision and statesmanship, we can move forward.

"If we persist in rigidity and negativity we will only slide back," he said, adding that at present the relations between India and Pakistan progressed well.

"I see the relationship between India and Pakistan is progressing well now. There is a thaw in the relationship," he said.

Musharraf also said that there was a "linkage between the progress of the dialogue process and the progress towards the resolution of Kashmir dispute".

Stating that India and Pakistan cannot remain permanent enemies, he said the "Kashmir dispute has bedevilled relations between the two countries. In order to achieve durable peace in South Asia, it is imperative that the Kashmir dispute and all other differences between Pakistan and India are resolved peacefully and in a harmonious atmosphere."

Musharraf, who is currently visiting Turkey, would go to Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum, beginning from Jan 22 in Davos.