Asked to comment on the report that Pakistan and India are to hold next round of talks in January, the State Department said: "We encourage further efforts by Pakistan and India to advance their composite dialogue."
International wire services reports stated that India and Pakistan plan to hold a third round of peace talks in January with a focus on security, the Kashmir issue and confidence-building measures between both the countries.
The two-day talks would begin on January 17 and they would be led by the countries' foreign secretaries, who would review progress made so far and also chart a course for future negotiations.
The talks will be under a peace process that the two sides began in January 2004.