The United States on Tuesday welcomed the meeting between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the SAARC summit and hoped it would lead to 'further engagements and dialogue' between both the countries.

"We warmly welcome the meeting between Vajpayee and Musharraf and other senior level meetings. We hope it would lead to further engagements and dialogue between India and Pakistan," US state department deputy spokesman A J Adam Ereli told reporters.

"The fact that Vajpayee and Musharraf met is noteworthy. As to the substance of the meeting, we leave that to the parties to comment," he said.

US national security spokesman Sean McCormack said the US had always encouraged direct dialogue between India and Pakistan.

"We encourage direct dialogue as the best way for India and Pakistan to resolve any issues between them. Any step that contributes to a reduction in tensions between countries is positive," he said.