US President George W Bush indicated he will talk to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on the need to end cross-border terrorism in India when he meets him in Washington later in June.

The assurance was given to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he talked to Bush at a dinner on Saturday night hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.

Vajpayee was seated left of Bush at the dinner and the table was shared by Putin, incumbent European Union Chairman and Greek President Costas Simitis and incoming EU Chairman and Italian President Silivio Berlusconi.

Authoritative sources told reporters accompanying the prime minister that Bush agreed with Vajpayee that successful Indo-Pak dialogue is not possible without an end to cross-border terrorism.

Bush also expressed admiration for Vajpayee's Pakistan peace initiative.

Vajpayee's tour: The complete coverage