Observing that India and Pakistan have acted in a 'statesman-like' manner during their anti-terror talks, the United States has said there has been a considerable expansion in the range of dialogue between the two countries and a number of new ideas for resolution of issues like Kashmir have been brought in.

"I think it's quite positive. They've both acted in a very statesman-like manner. They've expanded the range of discussions, and I think the depth of discussions as well," US Assistant Secretary of South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher told lawmakers when the issue of India and Pakistan came up at a hearing of the Middle East/South Asia sub-committee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

"There are a number of new ideas in play on the question of Kashmir and dealing with some of the specific disagreements like Sir Creek and Siachen.

"But they're also discussing other things -- confidence-building in nuclear and conventional forces. They just had this week the counter-terrorism discussions, the new mechanism to discuss terrorism problems and the bombing of the train which affected them all so deeply," Boucher said.

Asked if he believed if the current framework for discussions made sense and it is in the mutual interest of both New Delhi and Islamabad to continue the progress, Boucher replied, "Absolutely."

"I think the signs are quite positive, and certainly the United States has been very encouraged," he said.