New Delhi, Dec. 8: India and Pakistan issued a hopeful joint statement today that gave no hint that negotiations for a Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service were stuck over documentation.

?Both sides reiterated their commitment towards an early establishment of the proposed link,? said the statement issued at the end of two days of talks.

?Ideas were exchanged on all aspects related to operationalisation of the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. The two sides agreed to continue discussions at the next meeting to be held at mutually agreed dates,? the statement added.

That the two countries did not release separate statements blaming the other for failure to reach an agreement speaks volumes of their restraint and the desire to keep the dialogue ? conducted in a ?frank, cordial and constructive atmosphere? ? going. In the past, a slanging match would have ensued at the end of failed negotiations.

Foreign minister K. Natwar Singh was more forthright. ?Some hitches are there on the bus link but we hope to solve this, first at the official level and then at the ministerial level,? he said answering a debate on foreign policy in the Lok Sabha today. Singh spoke at length on India-Pakistan relations. There could be no ?magic solution? to the bilateral problems, he said.

The relations, he added, were also ?accident-prone and has to be tackled with restraint and patience?. India would not be affected by ?often contradictory positions expressed by leaders across the border?, Singh said.

The minister acknowledged that the atmosphere between the two countries was much better and relations much improved. His words were reflected in the joint statement, which was restrained and did not go into details of why the talks made no progress.

Claiming to show a flexible approach to Pakistan?s refusal to accept passports for identification of Kashmiris crossing the Line of Control, India had suggested issuing entry permits for passengers on the proposed bus route.

Pakistan had several objections to India?s offer; the most basic was against accepting Indian passport for Kashmiris. ?The Line of Control and an international border are two different things. There is no need of a passport to cross the LoC for Kashmiris,? a senior Pakistani diplomat said. ?State subject certificates or an identity card should be enough to ensure crossing the LoC,? the diplomat added.