Deal on Pakistan Supply Lines Not Expected During NATO Summit
CHICAGO — The United States and Pakistan are not expected to secure a deal to reopen supply lines to Afghanistan before a NATO summit begins on Sunday, casting a pall over talks that are to focus on winding down the alliance’s combat role in the Afghan war, American officials said.
American and Pakistani officials had expressed optimism last week that an agreement was imminent. Negotiators were narrowing their differences after three weeks of intense deliberations, they said, and it was hoped that an invitation for Pakistan to attend the summit would engender the good will needed to close the gap between the two sides.
The invitation was accepted, and Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, arrived in Chicago on Saturday. But a deal on the supply lines remained elusive, and President Obama would not meet directly with Mr. Zardari without it, American officials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/world/asia/pakistan-supply-lines-an-issue-during-nato-summit.html