Obama calls for 'balanced approach' to U.S.-Pakistan relations

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama expressed hope Tuesday that the United States and Pakistan can arrive at a "balanced approach" to relations as he met with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for the first time since a string of damaging episodes last year.

The talks Tuesday between the two leaders on the sidelines of a large nuclear security summit meeting in Seoul are the highest profile meeting between the two countries since NATO airstrikes on November 26 killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Pakistani-Afghan border.

The deaths drove relations between Washington and Islamabad to a new low, coming on top of anger over the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden at a compound in Pakistan last May, and continued American drone strikes on targets in the nation.

The Pakistani parliament is expected this week to start debating a committee's recommendation that the United States stop drone strikes inside its territory and apologize unconditionally for the November airstrikes. Read More