By Sushil Sharma BBC reporter in Kathmandu

The Nepalese Prime Minister, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, has vowed to resolve the long-running Maoist insurgency peacefully.

Mr Chand spoke of talks soon after taking office

He said that the government was ready for a dialogue with Maoist rebels and was waiting for the rebels' response.

Addressing his first news conference after assuming office, Mr Chand said elections would be organised as soon as peace was restored.

Mr Chand was appointed interim prime minister last week following king Gyanendra's unprecedented move to sack an elected prime minister and assume full executive powers.

The Nepalese army has been engaged in bloody clashes with the rebels since a state of emergency was imposed late last year.

Disruptions

The king has asked the new government to resolve the six-year-old insurgency and hold elections as soon as possible although no dates have been mentioned.

The King wants polls once peace is restored

Parliamentary polls were originally scheduled to be held in November but were postponed after King Gyanendra assumed executive power.

His move came after the then Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, asked him to defer the polls by a year due to security concerns.

Nepal's political parties had agreed that threats by the Maoist rebels to disrupt the polls were too grave to be ignored.

Basic differences

Shortly after his appointment, Mr Chand told the BBC he hoped to resume peace talks with the rebels.

On Saturday, he again said he would seek the resumption of peace talks which broke down last year after three inconclusive rounds.

A military offensive has been in place since then, although there has been no significant let-up in the Maoist violence.

The rebels say they want elections to establish a constituent assembly which would frame a new constitution.

They want a republican regime but the government insists on maintaining the present constitution which guarantees multi-party democracy and a constitutional monarchy.

Five thousand people have died since the Maoist rebels launched their armed campaign more than six years ago.