Wednesday, April 19 2006 10:35 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Viewing as a worrying factor the existence of India's unsettled borders with some neighbours, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday (Apr 18, 2006) said this state of affairs was an invitation to outsiders to intervene in the affairs of the sub-continent.

He said even the most intractable problems can be resolved through negotiations and the enlightened leadership in South Asia has no option other than diplomacy to deal with the challenges at hand.

"The fact that nearly 60 years after our independence, we have unsettled borders in the West, Northwest and East is something which worries me," Singh said after releasing a book 'Negotiating for India: Resolving problems through diplomacy' authored by retired diplomat Jagat Mehta.

He said the 'unsettled state' of the borders was an invitation to outsiders to intervene in the affairs of the sub-continent we live in.

The Prime Minister posed three questions: "How can we work together? How can we put our past behind us? How can we overcome the burden of history and march forward?"

Noting that the countries of South Asia have "shared history, shared aspirations and common challenges," he quoted from George Santayana to say that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.