Attending Nobel Peace Prize ceremony not bilateral issue: India

NEW DELHI: India today said its decision to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony tomorrow at Oslo for Chinese dissident Liu Xiabo was not a bilateral issue between New Delhi and Beijing.

"This is not a bilateral question between China and India. This is a Nobel function arranged by the Nobel foundation.... I think India has already taken a decision to be represented as... on earlier occasions through our Ambassador," External Affairs minister S M Krishna told reporters.

Although China has called upon all countries, including India, to keep away from the ceremony, New Delhi is among those which has confirmed their participation.

While 44 countries have accepted the invitation, 19 countries, including Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Columbia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam and Afghanistan have for various reasons declined the invitation.